Rose Among the Thorns

Chapter 18- Of the Wedding, part deux

The back garden of the Burrow was filled with people seated along a long aisle. Peeking through the sitting room window, Hermione tried to find Charlie, but the crowd was so full of red hair that she couldn't spot him. She leaned back inside and stood next to her father, who had already given her the 'My baby girl is all grown up' speech.

"Dad, you know I work for the magical government. I can easily get a Portkey to come visit you and mum in Brisbane any time."

"You promise?"

Hermione smiled and hugged her father. "Of course I do, dad."

"Well, then. We'd better be getting out there and put your poor Charlie out of his misery."

They followed Lavender, Susan, Hannah, Luna, and Ginny, Hermione's bridesmaids, out into the garden. Hermione's father steered her up the aisle, passing the sea of faces. She looked searchingly at the front, where a garden trellis covered in red roses had been erected. Harry, Percy, the twins, Bill, and Charlie stood next to it. Charlie. Hermione drew a deep breath. His weather-beaten face betrayed his nervousness, yet she had never seen him look more handsome. His hair was slightly tousled by the gentle autumn breeze. His eyes met hers, gazing tenderly at her as she walked toward him. After what felt like decades, she and her father were finally at the front.

Charlie smiled at her. She beamed back at him. "This is going to work," she thought. "We're going to work."

"Charles Septimus Weasley, do you take Hermione Jean Granger..." the minister droned.

The ceremony was beautiful. Charlie could barely keep his eyes off of her, and she suspected he wasn't paying much attention to the minister.

~~~~~~

Charlie gasped when he saw Hermione start up the aisle on her father's arm. She was radiant in the soft autumn sunlight. He had never seen her more beautiful. When she finally stood across from him, the look on her face took his breath away. It finally hit him that he was on the very brink of falling in love with her.

He was in a haze the rest of the ceremony, staring at Hermione. He almost forgot to repeat the vows after the minister, but retained enough presence of mind to follow along. "Finally the good part," he thought when the minister said he could kiss Hermione.

Fireworks exploded inside of him when their lips touched. It was a simple, chaste kiss, yet it was more powerful than either of the times they had kissed before. They strode, beaming, back down the aisle amidst the cheers and well wishes of their family and friends. Several loud wolf whistles pierced the air, courtesy of the twins.

~~~~~~~

Both Charlie and Hermione looked exuberant as they sat at the freshly conjured table. Hagrid came over to congratulate them, thumping Charlie so hard on the back two legs of his chair snapped and he fell forward on the table. Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Granger stood, dabbing their eyes and exchanging recipes. Mr. Granger described the rules football to Mr. Weasley. The rest of the crowd came forward with hugs and handshakes.

"Congratulations!" Ernie Macmillan shouted pompously over the noise.

"Well, Charles, I can't see her ankles, but her posture has gotten a mite better since the last time I saw her..." Aunt Muriel shouted.

Ginny and Harry just laughed and hugged them.

"Well, I supposed this means that Gryffindor is going to have a few extremely brilliant Quiddich stars," Professor McGonagall said, wiping away a tear before regaining her stern composure.

Later in the evening, they were treated to a splendid fireworks display, courtesy of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Out on the dance floor, Hermione caught sight of Remus dancing rather closely with Hestia Jones.

"Remus!" she called out. When he looked up, she winked theatrically. He blushed and shrugged his shoulders.

"She'd make Teddy a good mum," Charlie mused.

"I daresay she would," Hermione agreed.

Hermione had picked mostly muggle music to dance to. She had included a couple of Celestina Warbeck songs to appease Mrs. Weasley, but she knew Fleur would kill her if she included any more.

She danced most of the night, floating from Charlie to one of his brothers to her former Hogwarts classmates. She even danced with Hagrid, except she stood on his feet and he spun around as she held on for dear life. She had to sit out the next two songs, as she didn't want to be sick all over the dance floor. After that she danced with her husband again, then Harry, George, Remus, Mr. Weasley, Charlie, Neville, Seamus, Bill, Fred, and Charlie again.

It was nearly two thirty in the morning when Charlie and Hermione finally left the cheering crowd. They Apparated back to the doorstep of Hermione's darkened flat. After unlocking the door, Charlie swept Hermione up in his arms and carried her into the tiny flat. Hermione giggled.

"Isn't that a muggle thing? Carrying the bride over the threshold or something?" he asked her.

"Yes, it is," she replied, waving her wand to illuminate the living room. He let her down gently. They walked back into the bedroom and pulled out their pyjamas. Charlie went into the bathroom to change, leaving Hermione in the bedroom. She quickly changed into her kneazle print pyjamas and sat on the bed.

Charlie padded barefoot back into the bedroom, wearing a Gryffindor shirt and a pair of flannel bottoms. He sat down next to her.

"Long day, wasn't it?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yes. I had fun, though."

"Me too. Old Dedalus Diggle falling into the pond was a laugh," Charlie replied, chuckling.

They fell into silence. Finally, Hermione spoke.

"Well, it's about three. Our international Portkey leaves at eleven. That only gives us eight hours, so we'd better get a bit of sleep," she said, twisting the hem of her shirt between her fingers.

Charlie yawned. "You're right." He stood and walked to the other side of the bed. They pulled the covers back and climbed into the bed.

"Night, Hermione," Charlie said.

"Night, Charlie," Hermione replied. She turned off the light and snuggled under the covers. After several minutes, Charlie's deep, even breathing told her he had fallen asleep. She wrapped her arms around her pillow and closed her eyes. Exhaustion was finally setting in. Then she, too, fell asleep.

*******

notes: I couldn't make them do anything on their first night together, even though they are falling in love. I thought it would still be too weird and OOC.

* I couldn't remember if JKR mentioned it, so I used Charlie's paternal grandfather, Septimus, as his middle name. The Weasleys do seem to reuse family names.