Look at the Stars

Harry and Ginny Potter stood outside the door of the hospital wing at Hogwarts talking to Dumbledore. "How did you get them out?" Dumbledore asked.

The silencing spells had worn off a few minutes ago. "Hermione had stunned Krum. . . We just tied him up in his own ropes, dragged him out, and found the portkey back," Ginny explained.

"It's fortunate that the two of you weren't seriously injured. Now that you've delivered Mr. Black and Miss Granger to us, I suppose you two will be anxious to get on with your honeymoon. . . ah, I remember my own honeymoon! We went to Hungary to see the dragons. . . lovely time!"

"You're married?" Harry gasped.

Dumbledore looked puzzled. "Of course! To Minerva McGonagall. . . you didn't know that?"

*~*~*~*~*

Hermione woke up in the hospital wing at Hogwarts. Rolling over, she saw that Sirius was already awake in the next bed. She remembered what she'd told him just before she'd gone in the fight Viktor Krum, and she looked away in sudden embarrassment. She was staring at the opposite wall when a small black box landed in her lap.

She opened it. Just above a glittering diamond ring, Sirius had scrawled a shaky note. "I love you," it said.

Hermione looked over at him in astonishment. He smiled at her tenderly, then glanced from the box to her face questioningly. "Can you talk?" she asked.

He shook his head and kept gazing at her, silently begging for an answer to an unspoken question. She looked back at the box at beamed, kissing the ring and putting it on her own finger. Sirius's eyes widened in delight. "Did you just happen to have this lying around?" she asked.

He grinned and nodded his head.

Madam Pomfrey came into the room. "Professor Granger," she said, "Are you feeling well? Any headache?"

"I'm fine, Madam Pomfrey."

"And Professor Black. You managed to get yourself quite battered up. . . a broken leg, two broken ribs, a broken collarbone. . ."

Sirius smiled proudly. "But I mended the bones for you while you were asleep. Aside from a few bruises, you should be just fine. And that silencing spell should wear off in a minute or two, unfortunately. You both have my permission to leave."

Hermione slid out of the bed and stretched. She was still wearing the same lavender dress, though it was now tattered and stained. Sirius stood up carefully. He waited a few moments, then his voice came back in a croaky whisper. "I need you to help me walk."

He leaned against her and put his arm around her waist as they walked slowly toward the door.

"Professor Black, are you having trouble walking? Your legs should be perfectly fine by now. Do you need me. . ." Hermione caught Sirius winking at Madam Pomfrey over her head.

"Oh."

As soon as they had exited the hospital wing, Hermione turned to Sirius and smirked. "You devious thing," she said, slapping him jokingly.

"What? What did I do?"

"Everything," she said, as she pulled him in closer. Sirius held on tight as their lips met in a gentle kiss.

*~*~*~*~*

Hermione, radiant in her white dress, smiled at the large crowd of friends who were waiting for Sirius to cut the cake. "Do they know?" she whispered to Sirius.

"I told Harry, you know, just so they won't all panic," he answered, carefully using the knife to place the cake on a plate. "And it's only this piece, so they can't follow us."

Hermione took his hand. "You ready?"

"Let's do it. . ."

They touched the cake and were suddenly standing in front of a huge, beautifully gnarled tree. "This is your house?" Hermione asked.

"Up there. . ." Sirius pointed. He pressed his hand to the bark of the tree, and an archway opened up to reveal a hollow trunk with a small platform inside. He put his arm around Hermione and pulled her inside, tapping the inside of the trunk to close off the archway. The platform began lifting slowly, and Sirius held Hermione as he softly kissed her cheeks and forehead.

"Look," Hermione pointed to the leafy roof, shaken by the summer breeze, just before their lips melted together, "You can see the stars. . ."

THE END