To Love Somebody

Harry and Hermione were and ‘item.’ There were no other words to put it. Parvati and Lavender rejoiced the day they found out that Harry and Hermione were dating. Ron, a little shocked, accepted them, saying, “At least it’s Harry.”

Everyone was happy, right? Of course! This story takes place 6 years after Hoqwarts.

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“Hermione, I love you,” Harry Potter said on one knee. “Will you marry me?”

“Of, course, Harry!” Hermione said. She started to cry. Harry held her and kissed her.

“We’re going to be so happy,” Harry said softly.

“I know,” Hermione said through crying.

~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~    

Hermione walked down to Diagon Alley. She had a few things that she had to get for the party with the Weasley’s that was in four days. She felt she hardly had time to prepare. It had to be extra special because she and Harry were announcing their engagement that day.

Hermione, rushing along with her head down, didn’t see the man in front of her as she bumped into him. Down they went. Some of Hermione’s bags split. “I’m sorry,” she muttered.

“Tsk, tsk. Granger, I didn’t know clumsiness was one of your faults,” the man drawled. “Here, let me help you.” He bent down and started picking up Hermione’s stuff.

“You don’t have to---Malfoy!” Hermione said, shocked.

“Yeah, so what?” Draco said. “Oh yeah, call me Draco.” He set her supplies down on a bench that was near them.

“Thanks,” she said.

“No problem. I have to go. ‘Bye.” Draco said. Before leaving, though, he kissed her on the cheek. Draco ran off so quickly that she didn’t even have time to say anything to him.

‘Well, that was weird,’ Hermione thought. She grabbed her bags and went to finish her shopping.

*    *    *    *    *

Hermione slid the key into the lock and turned it. The door unlocked. Opening the door, she called, “Harry! I’m home.”

“Oh, good,” Harry said, walking out of the kitchen. He took some of Hermione’s bags and set them on the table. He began taking stuff out and putting it away. “Did you meet anybody from Hogwarts?”

“No, nobody,” she lied. She could never tell him about Malfoy and his unusual behavior. She was engaged to Harry for Heaven’s sake!

“That’s a shame,” Harry said as he put the three loaves of bread in the cabinet. “Oh, Ginny called.”

“On the phone?” Hermione said, storing the plastic bags for later use.

“Yeah. She said she wanted to talk with you about the wedding,” Harry said. “She told me that you told her.”

“I had to,” Hermione said. “She wouldn’t leave me alone until I did.”

“She said she found a really nice bridal shop down in London,” Harry said.

“Oooooo! I’m gonna go call her,” Hermione ran to her home office and grabbed the phone. She quickly dialed Ginny’s number.

“Hello?” Ginny’s voice said through the receiver.

“Hi, Gin. Harry said that you found a really cool bridal shop,” Hermione said.

“Yeah. It is so cool. It has all these new fashion designs for wedding gowns. The latest styles,” Ginny said over the phone.

“Good. Do you want to go next Saturday?” Hermione asked.

“Of course!”

“Are you coming this Saturday to the party?” Hermione asked.

“Yeah. I want to see everyone’s faces when you tell them,” Ginny said.

“I think they are expecting it to happen soon. It’s not like I’m marrying Malfoy or anything,” Hermione said. ‘Why did I say Malfoy?’ Hermione thought. ‘Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid---’

“Yeah, but still I want to see it. I want to see Ron fall out of his chair,” Ginny said. “You know, he has always had a crush on you.”

“He has not,” Hermione said.

“Yeah, huh. What made you mention Malfoy? We haven’t heard from him in a long while.”

“I saw him today,” Hermione said quietly.

“He must have done something unusual or you wouldn’t have said anything,” Ginny said.

“He did do something weird, but we can’t talk about in now because Harry’s home and I know that he would use it as an excuse to beat Malfoy’s face in.”

Ginny laughed. “You’re right. So, you have to tell me when we go looking at the wedding dresses.”

The next day

“Harry, are you almost ready?” Hermione said as she grabbed her purse. They were going to go to Diagon Alley to look at a bakery, a flower shop, and they were going to hire a wedding planner.

“Almost. Crap,” Harry said as the phone started to ring. “Hello? Yeah. I can’t. I have to? No, you don’t understand. Hermione and I--Okay.”

Harry walked over to where Hermione was waiting patiently for him. “Darling, I can’t make it. McManal needs me for extra practice.”

Hermione pouted. “But we have been planning this for weeks.”

“I know, but no money, no wedding,” Harry said, kissing her.

“You’re right.”

“Since we have an appointment, you need to go see the wedding planner. I trust you’ll make a good choice,” Harry said.

“I’ll try.”