On Marriage

Chapter Fourteen - Reception

Since there was still one ceremony to be performed after their own, Hermione and Severus, as well as their guests, found themselves shuffled off into an empty classroom to wait for the group reception. Most of the students in attendance, preferring gaiety over any additional time in the presence of their Potions Master, quickly excused themselves to rejoin Hannah and Ernie's pre-reception gathering. Hermione heard whispers of cake and champagne as the students slipped away, and soon the only people left in the now-too-large room were she and Severus, her parents, Harry and the Weasleys.

Severus had released Hermione's hand as they had exited the Room of Requirement, for which she thought she was grateful. He stood off to one side of the room, having what appeared to be a pleasant conversation with Hermione's parents. This seemed to baffle her friends as much as it had initially surprised her when she'd made their introductions, though they were given very little time to ponder the oddity as Molly Weasley promptly swept Hermione into a happy but tearful embrace. She and Ginny immediately found themselves the center of the Weasley clan's attentions, where they remained until Professor Flitwick came to collect the group for the reception a short while later.

The Great Hall was already flooded with wedding celebrants by the time Severus and Hermione arrived with their comparably small group. Adrian and Daphne and their guests had come directly from their ceremony, and Hannah and Ernie's followers had arrived quickly when the rumor of food and dancing began to circulate.

There was food, and there was music, though the three groups of wedding guests remained somewhat separated at first. The friends and family of Mr and Mrs Macmillan were the most abundant and most jovial, and this feeling slowly began to permeate the rest of the group. Of them all, only Daphne seemed entirely unhappy to be there. She was quiet, her eyes rimmed in red and, when she came by to both give and receive a congratulatory hug with Hermione, Hannah whispered that none of Daphne's family had been present at her ceremony. Hermione herself felt oddly distanced from the events at hand and, were it not for the dress she wore and the fact that Severus was almost constantly only an arm's reach away, she might have forgotten that she was one of the reasons everyone was there in the first place.

Once everyone had been given the opportunity to mingle and sample some of the edible treats, the music in the room changed and the Headmaster called the brides and their fathers to the floor for a dance. Hermione had forgotten that the muggle tradition was going to be applied to the evening, but took her father's arm with a smile and followed Hannah and Mr Abbott to the dance floor. Once they were in place, she had a moment's horror remembering Hannah's whispered comment earlier in the evening - but it appeared that she wasn't the only person Hannah had mentioned this fact to, and Hermione smiled to see Severus escort Daphne to the dance floor. The move seemed a bit uncharacteristic until Hermione thought of how the Slytherin's seemed to pride themselves on their loyalty to one another and, in lieu of her father, Daphne's head of house certainly seemed a suitable replacement. Adrian had scowled but did not argue and, for the first time that evening! , Daphne beamed with happiness at something Severus said too quietly for anyone else to hear.

When the dance began, Hermione fell easily into step with her father. She was surprised to see, over his shoulder, that Severus didn't appear to be a stranger to the dance floor. Halfway through the song, Ernie and Adrian left the group of onlookers and interrupted their wives partners.

Relinquishing Daphne to her husband, Severus stepped towards Hermione and her father. Severus and Daniel greeted each other with a slight nod and, after a parting peck on the cheek from her father, Hermione found herself in the arms of Severus, her husband. She realized with a start that, aside from their vows, they had not spoken to one another at all that day. Under the circumstances, Hermione found this a bit unsettling, though it was not nearly as unsettling as the feel of his hand placed firmly against the small of her back.

Looking up, determined to break the silence, Hermione found that Severus was already watching her. The words she had intended to speak, whatever they had been, were lost.

"You...you look very nice this evening," she managed to stammer, inwardly cursing herself for the uncertainty that had stolen her previous thoughts.

Severus quirked a half-smile, one Hermione was slowly beginning to get used to. "As do you," he returned quietly. "It would appear that Miss Weasley has some hidden talents," he added, removing his hand from Hermione's back long enough to touch one of the smooth curls that Ginny had created. Hermione blushed, unsure whether the statement was a compliment to her current looks, or a dig against the way she looked every other day.

"What did you say to Daphne?" Hermione asked in an attempt to diffuse what felt like it was going to become a very awkward moment.

Severus scowled at her in reply. "House business," he said bruskly, but did not elaborate.

Admonished, Hermione did not attempt conversation again. She spent the remainder of the evening either on the dance floor with her father and her friends, or seated with her mother and the two Weasley women. She did not find herself beside Severus again until the eveing was drawing to a close.

The Headmaster offered a toast to the couples, wishing them many years of happiness together, and then the reception began to break up. Adrian and Daphne left so quietly that no one even saw their exit. Ernie and Hannah departed in a hail of birdseed, at which Severus quirked an eyebrow and scowled. And then Hermione found herself standing beside Severus in a quickly emptying room.

"It's time for us to go," he said to her after she had said goodbye to her mother and father. Hermione nodded mutely, have Harry and Ron and Ginny a tight smile and a wave, and left the hall with Severus.

At the base of the staircase where their paths would normally part, Hermione stopped walking and looked to Severus. She had just realized that she had no idea what was supposed to happen next. Was she supposed to return to the Head Girl's rooms and pack up her belongings? Or head to Severus' quarters as his wife and forget the life that had come before?

Neither, as it turned out.

As though he sensed her uncertainty, Severus also stopped walking, and watched Hermione for a moment before she spoke.

"Our things will be waiting in the entrance hall."

Hermione bit her lip in confusion. Severus sighed as though she was being terribly thick, and then continued his explanation.

"I believe a honeymoon is typically a part of the muggle wedding procedure, is it not?" he asked.

"Yes, but-" Hermione began.

"We are leaving for our honeymoon." Hermione thought the word sounded terribly odd in Severus' mouth and, indeed, he did seem somewhat uncomfortable with it himself. Hermione's stomach knotted. She was having difficulty with the thought that everything leading up to the wedding had already happened and the whole situation was no longer a matter of 'when'...it was now.

"Where?" she asked.

"My home," Severus said simply, then amended awkwardly, "Our home." Hermione swallowed and nodded. She knew that Severus had told her the location of a house he owned during one of their Saturday teas. At the moment she was unable to recall where exactly that was. At the moment, she was doing quite well to remember to breathe.

"Shall we?" Severus asked, motioning towards the staircase in front of them. Hermione nodded again and moved towards the entrance hall where, indeed, two suitcases were waiting. Birdseed scattered about the floor suggested that Hannah and Ernie had already made their escape from the castle and Hermione idly wondered where it was they had gone as she took the cloak that Severus offered her and prepared herself to step outside into the snow.

It was a chilled walk to the edge of the school grounds, where they were able to apparate to their location. Much like when the pair had first visited the Grangers, Hermione and Severus Apparated together, though this time he led the way to their destination.

The first thing that Hermione noticed about where they had gone was that it was dark, then that it was still quite cold. The shadow of a house loomed in front of them, light burning in a handful of windows and near what Hermione assumed to be the front door.

Severus let out a gentle sigh and Hermione wished she had been able to see his face. It sounded almost as though he were glad to be home, though it could have been just as easily true that he was glad to be away from the wedding reception.

"Come along," he said, and Hermione followed him towards the circle of light at the door. They had no sooner reached the front stoop than the front door was flung open and a handful of house elves descended upon them. Hermione missed their names in the ensuing confusion, but found that her suitcase was taken from her immediately, followed by her cloak as soon as they were indoors. Before she properly had the opportunity to look around the foyer, the small army bustled the newlyweds up a flight of stairs, down a corridor, around a corner and through a pair of wooden doors. Hermione found herself blinking at the sight of a rather cozy sitting room. A fire roared in the fireplace and assorted candles kept the room from being too dark. There was a door off to either side of the room, and one of the house elves begged Hermione's forgiveness then pulled her by the hand towards on of the closed doors.

Hermione glanced over her shoulder to see if the same was happening to Severus, but he had been left surrounded by the other house selves, to whom he was giving quiet instruction. The house elf began talking as soon as they were through the door, bouncing about and nervously showing Hermione the bedroom she had been led into.

The room itself was fairly large, bigger than her apartment at Hogwarts at any rate, dressed with a four poster bed draped in blue as well as a matching dresser and vanity. A trunk rested at the foot of the wide bed, and her suitcase was waiting there already.

The little house elf, who's name Hermione still hadn't managed to discern, pointed to another door, told her it led to a bathroom and suggested that Hermione might want to freshen up after her travels, then smiled and disappeared as only a house elf can.

Somewhat shaken by the sudden silence after such bustling activity, Hermione stood quietly in the middle of the room for a moment. She couldn't tell if Severus was still talking to elves in the other room and wasn't quite prepared to go in search of him just yet. It was, after all, suddenly her wedding night, and she wasn't at all certain that she was prepared for what was logically going to come next.

Maybe freshening up wasn't such a bed idea after all.

Hermione bathed, then brushed her hair and brushed her teeth and changed into pajamas. Honeymoon or no, she had chosen to wear what her mother had once termed 'sleep-over' pajamas, long pants of a soft blue fabric with a matching button-up top. She wasn't quite ready to attempt anything more revealing, and highly doubted that Severus expected her to come to bed in a short, sheer nightgown.

Hermione stood before the mirror, trying to mentally prepare herself for what she knew was coming next. She knew the mechanics of it all, of course. She'd read all about that years earlier. But, as much as she'd known since Midsummer that this moment was going to come, Hermione wasn't ready.

She was thankful that Severus hadn't knocked on the bathroom door to inquire after her welfare, but eventually even Hermione had to admit that she couldn't hide in there forever - no matter how tempting that idea was. Taking a deep breath, she opened the bathroom door and stepped into the darkened bedroom. And candle on the dresser was the only light in the room, and Hermione was both surprised and relieved to find the room empty.

There was light coming from beneath the door to the sitting room, suggesting that Severus was probably still out there. Hermione considered going to check on him, but quickly dismissed the idea. She crawled into the large bed, tucked the blankets beneath her chin. She was too nervous to sleep, which left her with nothing to do but wait.