Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

And They Didn\'t Live Happily Ever After	By : ElizabethStump Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 90306 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 116
- 117
- 118
“And They Didn't Live Happily Ever After”

Chapter One Hundred Sixteen
“Vivieron Felices Y Comieron Codero Y Salmón" (And They Lived Happily Ever After, and Ate Lamb and Salmon)

Disclaimer:
We gather here today to read this fanfic of two characters who are finally going to be joined in the bonds of holy matrimony, which is an honorable plot. Into this, I must disclose that Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling and no monetary compensation is received by me, nor is any copyright infringement intended. If anyone reading this fanfic can show just and legal cause why I shouldn't post this, let them review now or forever shut their gob.

============

September 3, 2006

As Severus stepped out of the shower, he noticed Hermione was standing in front of the bathroom sink while studying the vial in her hand, lost in contemplation. He went over to her, covered the vial and her hand with his own hand, and softly reminded her, "You don't have to make a decision today. We can discuss this after we come back."

Hermione looked at the edge of the vial that wasn't covered by their hands, studying the henna design refracted on her palm through the pale elixir and glass tube. She was about to reply, but was cut short when the doorbell chimed.

"That must be Mario. Can you let him in, dear?" Hermione asked, as she went back to brushing out her freshly washed hair, a towel wrapped around her torso.

"And after I let him in, maybe I could put up a Silencing Charm," he said in a sultry voice as he began to undo her towel and cast her a seductive glance in the mirror, but was met with a slight slap on his hand and a faux stern glare from her.

Turning around and brandishing her hairbrush in a threatening manner, she admonished him in her best imitation of a New York Brooklyn accent, "Y'know, you got them bad eyes, like a gypsy!" It was a favorite line of hers to quote from that romantic film they watched together last year during the summer Friday night movie festival.

"The better to seduce you with, my dear," he purred before briefly attacking her neck with his mouth. He was pleased when she squeaked with delight instead of thwacking him with her brush, but he stopped when the door chimed once more.

"All right, all right!" Severus barked as he rushed to throw on some shorts and a shirt.

Hermione could hear Mario talking away excitedly with his Italian accent and the tromping feet of several other people filing in to take over their kitchen that day.

Just as Hermione tied off her dark blue silk dressing gown there was a gentle rapping upon the bedroom door.

"Hermione? Are you ready?" a voice called out hesitantly.

"Yes, perfect timing," she invited the hairdresser in.

Fortunately for Hermione and Severus, they had taken Draco's original suggestion to keep things very simple.

While Hermione was getting her hair and make-up done, Severus let the florist in to drop off the flowers before going to get dressed himself in one of the guest bedrooms. He wanted the joyous surprise of seeing his bride all dressed up only when he would meet her at the bottom of the stairs and escort her.

Akela and Kaimi were so excited about the wedding, they were more than happy to fulfill the function of hostesses and part-time wedding coordinators before the day. They greet guests, the few who were coming; and they place presents in a pile. The guests had been told that since the couple was combining two households there was nothing they required, but that didn't stop people from bringing something for the bridal couple to unwrap. At the right time, the Finau girls would then direct guests to the backyard where the ceremony was to take place.

When Hermione was granted sanctuary over a year ago, Severus began the long process of getting the backyard ready for their eventual wedding . There was now a large multi-tiered deck on the back hill with an impressive pergola covered with vines of Jasminum tortuosum that he'd trained to climb over the structure. While the bush Jasmine sambac produced extremely fragrant flowers used in pikake leis, this particular vining jasmine produced a much lighter citrus-like scent that pleased Hermione. It was not cloying, like Jasmine polyanthum, the heavily perfumed variety grown in the Grand Royal Supper Club's garden.

In addition to the pergola, there was a large area he and Hermione had designed and built as a "toddler pen." They expected many toddlers to be coming – Draco and Ginny's triplets, for starters – so this area would keep them entertained and essentially penned off, since the children would no doubt find the solemnity of a wedding ceremony boring and tedious. The grassy area featured a slide, a rocking hippogriff and rocking owl, and other toddler-sized play equipment. They knew it would keep the children happy and busy, having the play area thoroughly tested over many weekends by their godchildren and children of friends who came over to visit periodically. There would also be a small contingent of elves to help wrangle the children and help with potty visits and diaper changes during the wedding and reception, so the parents could relax. The bridal couple had even set up one of the guest bedrooms to function as a nap area for when the little ones tuckered themselves out.

It didn't take Severus very long to get ready, so he mingled and greeted people as they arrived, keeping his jacket off until it was time.

The Finaus were the first to arrive, with Tristan who got a special furlough from his master in order to attend the wedding that weekend with his girlfriend, followed by Halulu and Greg with their twin toddler girls in tow. Hermione's parents, along with Aunt Christine, Uncle Tim and Auberon came over; the Grangers offered to help with anything, but there was little to do since it was all kept simple in order to save Hermione's sanity, and thereby Severus' as well. Bill Weasley, the twins and their entire families eventually arrived too; the Weasley wives were eternally grateful there was a play area they could let their brood run loose and work off that boundless energy that wore their parents down, and it was barely one o'clock. Albert arrived with gifts in hand – a gift for the bridal couple, and a couple bottles of very fine Spanish Madeira to share with the bridegroom, and any other guests who chose to have a bracer, before the ceremony.

While Severus was not nervous exactly, nor did he consider finally marrying Hermione unpleasant at all, he did have a glass to steady his steadily building nerves.

Gary and his wife Iolana finally made it, arriving at the same time as Fastrada Johnson, now a Potions mistress herself. Jerry and Pat, Severus' office manager, followed shortly after. Severus barely closed the front door before seeing more people down at the gate by the roadside approaching. As Severus directed Mario to where he could place the wedding cake to keep it safe from curious and grubby toddler fingers, Ranjit and Arnold showed up, the Japanese Potions master and Severus having long buried the hatchet thanks to some careful scheming by the Indian Potions master, Pat, and Hermione.

There were only three more families who needed to show up before the ceremony could begin. When Severus was tempted to have Akela go fetch the friends who were now officially late, Harry and his family arrived all looking a bit exhausted; they offered a quick apology for their tardiness due to a last-minute temper tantrum. No sooner had the phrase "temper tantrum" been uttered than Severus heard Josephine squeal in protest all the way down from the road where Ron Weasley and his family trudged up the hill.

"But Josephine, all your cousins will be there, and I know how much you like your cousins," Severus could hear Lavender trying to reason with her daughter who squirmed and fought in her father's arms, seeking to be let down and run in the opposite direction from the house.

"No, I wanna go swimming again!" she squalled.

"We can go swimming after the wedding. Besides, Auntie Hermione promised chocolate cake for all the good little girls and boys who behaved," Lavender added. Hermione didn't exactly promise such a thing, but the bride did insist on chocolate cake for their wedding, which Lavender used to bribe her daughter into behaving.

This seemed to quell the obstinate toddler's demand to do as she wanted into doing what she was told.

As they opened the garden gate, Severus saw Ron roll his eyes in exasperation, his fussing daughter in one arm and Devlin holding his adoptive father's hand quietly. Lavender brought up the rear, looking well put together as always, but slightly worn down by the toddler's recent outburst.

Severus could do nothing but give a smirk. He found some perverse justice that Ronald Weasley, who gave him trouble for seven years in his classroom, would have a solid ten years of dealing with his rather willful daughter, plus her summers home from Hogwarts.

As they reached the porch, Devlin struck out his hand with awkward politeness, "It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. Snape. Congratulations."

Severus shook the young wizard's hand, pleased his adoptive mother was imparting good manners in the boy, who seemed to be thriving in a house full of love. "Thank you, Mr. Patil. It is a pleasure to meet you as well." While he did recognize Macnair's eyes in the boy, Devlin did not seem to possess any of the cold cruelty of his biological father.

Devlin went into the house. He was followed quickly by Josephine who squirmed out of her father's grasp and bolted towards the backyard, where she heard her cousins and other children playing.

"Albert has Madeira," Severus announced quietly, knowing the offer would be much appreciated.

"Thanks, Snape, I definitely need some," Ron exhaled with relief that he would get a temporary break from the terrible twos.

"I'll need one as well," Lavender added as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, bracing herself for the afternoon to come, praying Josephine would be cooperative for once.

"In the library," Severus directed them with a wave of his hand.

Draco and Ginny decided to Floo directly from home instead of making the walk up the hill, as they were already running late. There was a roll of the eyes indicating that temper tantrums were par for the course today to get children out of the house, but the triplets' moods brightened immediately now that they were over at Uncle Severus and Aunt Hermione's home and could play in the special garden they had built. They shrieked with ear-shattering delight when they saw all the other kids there playing already; they joined them immediately, running up the stairs and expertly opening the gate to get inside and join the fun.

Severus went into the library to enjoy a brief bit of peace and quiet; he had placed an age line and a Silencing Charm on the room so that parents could find a place of momentary refuge from the noise. Upon entering the library, he saw it was rather packed, all by parents seeking a moment free from the joyous screams and sounds of their toddler children. The exception was Albert, who was happily playing bartender, handing out glass after glass of cherished and nerve-soothing Madeira.

"Thank you for building that play area and having elves to help today," Draco said with deep gratitude.

There was a great murmur of agreement from the rest of the parents, all thankful that Hermione and Severus had the foresight to plan for things accordingly so their wedding guests could take a break.

"To the bride and groom! With much appreciation of your planning ahead of time from everyone here with children," Bill toasted.

"Hear! Hear!" the group chorused and drank in honor of the bridal couple. Aunt Christine and Zhubanysh raised their glasses of iced ginger and lemon tea while everyone else was imbibing with something stronger and alcoholic.

Now that everyone had arrived and caught their breath, Severus asked Akela and Kaimi to start directing everyone – well, the adults and older children – to their seats. The younger children were left to play in the special garden just for them.

Severus buttoned the bespoke cream and pale gold Sherwani jacket that had a subtle paisley pattern woven into the silk and linen fabric. He had cream-colored European-style tailored trousers to go with the jacket instead of the more traditional churdar trousers. All things considered, his outfit was very similar to his traditional long black frock coat he was renowned for by those who knew him during his Hogwarts years, except with a more distinct Indian flare. The outfit was Hermione's idea; she'd confessed her first daydream of marrying Severus was in India, upon seeing an Indian groom astride a yali while looking regal and handsome. She had easily envisioned Severus in a similar outfit.

Mounga laid a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You ready, dude?"

"For a while," Severus said a bit over dramatically, making light of the fact he had been very patient waiting for Hermione to finish her apprenticeship. Then he'd been patient waiting for all the guests to make arrangements for the trip all the way out from England, especially Hermione's side of the family who traveled via Muggle air travel.

Hermione had only just finished her apprenticeship three months prior, but they both had to make arrangements regarding their schedules to find a time where they could both take a few weeks off for a proper honeymoon. They timed the wedding to be during the week of Labor Day, since many students took that week off from school. This reduced Severus' need to be around for tutoring and would ensure they would be back in time for Oktoberfest, since Hermione had to perform with the beginner adult women's belly dancing group at the Sausage, Suds, Shimmy & Sounds Festival.

During Hermione's remaining apprenticeship time, she had trained Draco on all aspects of running the company. By the time she did finish and became a fully accredited Potions mistress, fourteen months after arriving in Malu Palekaiko as a permanent resident, he was fully up to speed on all aspects of the company, including supervision of manufacturing. Hermione added the joke that she swore she was going to marry Severus before her twenty-seventh birthday, by hook or by crook. Given that her birthday was only sixteen days away, they were just making it under the wire.

Draco and Mounga waited with Severus in the foyer near the bottom stairs. Severus felt his heart beat loudly in his chest when he heard the clatter of heels on the wooden staircases as the matron of honor and bride descended.

Hermione thanked her hairdresser for doing a fantastic job on her hair and make-up. Severus had always said he loved it when Hermione piled the hair up atop her head to let it cascade down the back of her head like a goddess on a Grecian urn. She tipped her stylist extra, having prepaid her, for taming her wild hair while not over-styling it. Her stylist added the spray of flowers – miniature red dendrobium orchids with yellow throats – to the left side of the bride's coiffure at the last moment, to match the larger ones in her bouquet.

Ginny helped Hermione fasten the necklace Severus insisted on buying Hermione when they went to Varanasi to go shopping for wedding clothes. It was twenty-two karat gold featuring red rubies and golden-colored sapphires, to match her red-and-gold wedding sari, chosen based on Indian wedding tradition, not her House colors. While it was a bit heavier in design than the sapphire necklace Severus had given her for Christmas, it perfectly fit the design and ornateness of her richly embroidered sari, though not as heavy or ostentatious as the one she wore during The Lovely Lavender Company's launch in India nearly two years ago.

She was glad she paid extra to have the sari charmed to wrap itself around her, ensuring perfect pleats and flawless placement of creases.

"Severus is going to be utterly stunned," Ginny sighed dreamily as she helped, looking over Hermione one last time to make sure there was not any lint that might have been caught in some of the beads that lightly fringed the edge of her pallu. "Nervous?"

"Absolutely not. Not a hint of cold feet," Hermione assured her friend that for this marriage she was certainly ready and looking forward to it. She slipped on her sandals and was now finally ready.

"Good, that's how I felt too when Draco and I were finally getting married," Ginny said with empathy, both witches silently remembering their nerves and reluctance regarding their first weddings.

Ginny handed Hermione her bouquet of red anthuriums and yellow-throated red dendrobiums before grabbing her own smaller bouquet of pale pink orchids and petite red anthuriums.

Walking down the stairs, Hermione could feel her heart racing. She was excited to be getting married, and the best part was that she had not put herself into a state of exhaustion. Now she and Severus could both enjoy this day.

As Hermione stepped into view, Severus felt his breath catch in his chest. He stared at her in awe as a euphoric smile spread across his face. And when Hermione momentarily cast her eyes down demurely to Severus' obvious reaction, she glanced up at him a bit coyly through her lashes, and he could have sworn she was blushing just the slightest bit. She was a vision in red and gold, and the complex henna design on her hands, wrists, and feet added a delicateness to her loveliness. A few days prior, she had spent several hours to have her henna tattoos done traditionally, incorporating each of their names subtly into the design in Sanskrit, even though she could have just used one of the easy roll-on kits she'd developed a few years ago.

Finding his voice, he bowed before her deeply. With adoration, he professed, "Madam, just when I think you can look no lovelier, I am gladly proven wrong once more. You are radiance personified."

Hermione could actually feel her cheeks bloom with heat; she hoped that in addition to the rouge she was wearing, it would not appear as if too much make-up was applied. And she certainly prayed Lavender's latest version of tear-proof mascara would hold true, for she could feel the tears swelling behind her eyes, but rapidly blinked them away.

She wanted to say how handsome and regal Severus looked in his outfit, and that he even looked better than in her daydream nearly two years ago of him, but figured that was something she could share with him later. Now it was time to get married. Besides, she was too choked up to say much of anything with any eloquence, as the moment demanded.

Leis were exchanged in the foyer, with Severus presenting a carnation and orchid lei to Mounga, their officiant. Severus presented Draco with a white ginger and green orchid lei to go with the cream and pale green Hawaiian shirt he wore and cream linen trousers. Hermione gifted Ginny with a pink orchid and white plumeria lei to go with her coral pink and white formal muumuu.

Hermione held her arms up above her heart, presenting Severus with a traditional lei of maile, symbolizing strength and growing together, accented with small red roses in full bloom. Her hands shook slightly as he took the lei presented to him, both recognizing the symbolism behind this gesture, since it was also a custom to exchange garlands in a Hindu wedding during the Jaimala portion of the ceremony as well. According to Hindu custom, her garland signified that she accepts the groom's proposal and accepts him as a husband. Severus gifted Hermione with lei made of five strands of pikake flowers, the number of strands symbolic as a testament of love according to Hawaiian lore. Ginny and Severus helped Hermione place the twisted multiple-strand lei over her head so as not to disturb her artfully-arranged cascade of curls.

Normally the exchange of leis would have happened before the guests who were seated out on the back deck, but Hermione and Severus wanted to do this very intimate and symbolically rich act in private.

Mounga led the way through the living room and kitchen, out the back door and up the steps to where the guests were waiting under the broad shade of the pergola. The strains of some light classical piece began to play as the couple began climbing the steps.

Jerry had offered to play "disc jockey" and cued Severus' music box to play something while they came up the pathway. Hermione didn't want anything formal or even slightly resembling a processional, so she asked that he keep it to something classical and light without an air of pomp and circumstance. She wanted to keep this informal, as did Severus.

Hermione did not want to do much of anything that reminded her of her first wedding, much the same way Ginny had felt, and so they merely walked to a spot cleared in front of the guests, who were seated theater-style – instead of marching up an aisle between guests seated on either side.

There were about thirty-two guests seated, including Devlin, plus Michael and Philippe, Bill and Fleur's two oldest, who wanted to watch the wedding. They preferred it to playing with the much smaller children who gaily squealed and frolicked about in their special garden.

Everyone stood as the bride approached. There was a murmur of appreciation of how lovely the bride looked and how she glowed. Her choice of a red sari would not have been acceptable back in England within the wizarding community unless she truly was of Indian descent and having an authentic Indian wedding, but given the rather international mix in Malu Palekaiko, this was met without a bat of the eye.

Hermione's father offered to give Hermione away again, but she politely declined. She didn't want to be given away, as she explained, but walk into this marriage already by the side of the man she had shared so much with and who already had claimed her heart. Severus kept glancing down at his beautiful bride who held on to his left arm. Hermione was more focused on trying to not step on the hem of her sari as they ascended the stairs towards the back deck, but she could feel his mesmerized eyes upon her.

Now that everyone had taken their places, the guests sat down while Jerry ended the music.

Lifting the conch shell to his lips, Mounga blew it three times, each long note resounding through the afternoon air. Even the children in the garden momentarily quieted to listen to the rich heralding sound.

Mounga did not have to cast a Sonorus Charm, as his voice projected quite easily with little effort for the small gathering. "When Severus first came to Malu Palekaiko, as I listened to his story as he sought sanctuary, I was moved by the words of love he spoke about Hermione and how he had – with great reluctance and heartbreak – left her behind, and how she willingly let him go and stayed behind to clear his name so he could be truly free, a very moving act of love itself. When Hermione came here herself seeking sanctuary, she told me her side of the story and of the things that happened between them. This showed me not only a deep and abiding love, but an extraordinary connection between two hearts that despite being separated by a great distance seemed to beat as one."

Hermione was initially reluctant about admitting she had sought sanctuary, but in time she saw there was no shame to it and people did not pry into her reasons for seeking it when she finally confessed having done so. However, Hermione and Severus had not shared the story about the inadvertent binding to each other through the use of pomegranate juice, though some knew of them meeting on an alternate plane. The only other person who knew was Mounga, and he was not going to share the particulars of that tale. So his words spoken meant something far more than the guests, or even Draco and Ginny, could assume.

"Marriage is a solemn contract, a joining of two to become as one, while remaining separate enough that each may thrive in the shelter and care of the other. Severus and Hermione, I have no doubt, will continue to thrive and grow together and stronger as the years pass within the shelter of each other's hearts and souls."

Turning to their witness, he prompted them. "The rings?"

The couple stuck with the traditional vows regarding the rings, as the symbolism of the words spoken and their meaning did hold true for them and their feelings.

Mounga then reached toward a small table next to him to pick up a glass that contained a dark red liquid. He held it up to show all the guests, who assumed it was wine.

"Drink, and with this act reaffirm the bindings of your hearts and souls to one another as you have stated your desire to do so," he announced to the couple, before offering the glass of pomegranate juice to the bride first.

Throughout the ceremony, Hermione had heard Mounga's words, but she was so awash in the heady sensation of elation, she could hardly remember what he said. Instead, she could do nothing but bask in the happiness that seemed to pulse from within Severus. But when Mounga lifted the glass of pomegranate juice, she became acutely aware of the words spoken and drank in their august intent knowing that to drink was to once more spiritually reconnect with Severus, their love as the catalyst.

Hermione took the glass in her hand and gazed up into Severus' eyes as she sipped from the glass, holding it with two hands like a ceremonial chalice of antiquity and she was invoking some great and ancient magic with this act.

She then offered it to her groom, the wizard she was willingly binding herself to once more. The marriage ceremony was merely to make official what was already cast in their hearts long ago.

Severus took the glass and drank the last few sips before handing it back to Mounga, his eyes never leaving Hermione's. When they had planned and discussed the ceremony, he was surprised that Hermione wanted to bind herself to him once more with pomegranate juice, but he welcomed the act as he had no regrets having done so before. This simple act of drinking meant more to him and her than any rings, exchange of leis, or spoken words. It was when he finished drinking the last swallows of the dark red nectar that in his mind that the ceremony was complete and he and Hermione were now truly joined in marriage, but there was one last thing to do for the benefit of the guests.

Upon watching the sharing of drink, Mounga recalled the words the ghostly memory of Albus once said to Severus. Mounga proclaimed with great reverence, "Love is the grandest of all the emotions man can experience. It brings us happiness, and makes our souls feel full of the matter that makes the universe spin and move. Love is the most powerful thing in the universe. There is no regret in the experience of love, only when we deny ourselves the ability to love." He paused to stress the importance of the words to be drunk in by all. "Let your hearts beat as one and your souls be joined forever more, bound by the love and affection you share with one another. Let it not wither, but flourish and flower as lush as a valley fed by the boundless springs of love."

Hermione finally broke eye contact with Severus so she could reach for her bouquet to fetch her handkerchief she had hidden under her bouquet, and dabbed at her eyes, feeling the tears swelling behind them. She was moved by the words that Mounga used to express their love; during her interview for sanctuary, she had described to him the springs she drank from cascading Severus' mountain of love.

Mounga's choice of words were not lost on Severus either. He would normally scoff at such sentimental drivel, but these words held great meaning to him and his bride.

There was only one part of the ceremony Hermione and Severus rehearsed beforehand. And since they did not feel the need to have the same words spoken twice since they shared the same sentiments, they decided to share, alternating in the speaking of their final vows.

Severus and Hermione stared with adoration at each other, both so fixed on each other, they hardly noticed anyone else around them. Severus noticed how the dark kohl around her eyes made the lighter flecks of amber more pronounced in her irises.

As they spoke their vows, Mounga translated for those who did not speak Hawaiian.

Severus began. "Na'u `oe."

"You're mine."

"'O ku'u aloha no 'oe," Hermione said, finding her throat closing up with emotion as the ceremony was drawing to a close.

"You are indeed my love."

"Ka`u Ia e lei a`e nei la."

"I pledge my love to you alone."

"Mau loa, ku`u lei."

"Forever, my beloved."

They smiled at each other, knowing it was finally done.

"You may now kiss each other," Mounga said, knowing how sexist Hermione thought the phrase "You may kiss the bride" was.

Without hesitation, Severus swept Hermione up in his arms and Hermione threw her arms around his neck, both eager to seal their vows with this simple act.

As their lips met, they could feel the magic of their renewed binding thrum through them, a visceral re-connection that told that their love had indeed bound themselves freely to each other, this time understanding and entering into this magical contract willfully.

Off in the forest just beyond the edge of the backyard, a beautiful young woman with a long fall of hair down to her knees stood there watching the ceremony from afar. She had heard the conch shell blown three times, calling for her divine presence yet again. As she watched Hermione and Severus kiss, she felt the thrum of their magic pulsing like a starburst, a shockwave radiating from them as their lips met. Magic conjured from love was the most powerful magic of all, more powerful than hers. Seeing that her presence was no longer required now that the ceremony was complete, and happy for the bridal couple, Pele turned and walked back into the forest.

Had there not been thirty-some people intently watching them, with some of the witches sniffing loudly and making syrupy sentimental noises – and the sudden sounds of disgust emanating from the peanut gallery romping in the garden, with one urchin yelling, "Eww, they're kissing!" – the couple would have continued kissing for far longer. Hermione and Severus both were of the same mind that a couple should not kiss so passionately that it was unseemly for a decorous ceremony; suddenly they were now themselves so swept up in their kiss, they had to hold back despite feeling the call of magic for them to continue on and without reservation.

As they reluctantly ended their kiss, Hermione felt equally overwhelmed and extremely exhilarated; she wasn't sure if she wanted to cry or burst out into peals of laughter from joy and relief, the ceremony was over and they were finally married. She could feel her head reel as if she were drunk. She held on to Severus' arm for fear she just might topple over, even though he'd forced her to have a late-morning snack to hold her over until food was served.

It was then she finally realized that Halulu's husband, Greg, had been taking photos during the ceremony. She saw him as he got up in front and took a few snaps of Severus and Hermione looking quite happy after their kiss.

"It is with great pleasure I now introduce Mr. and Mrs. Snape."

There was applause from all the guests, some more enthusiastic than others. Ron whistled and clapped loudly to Hermione and Severus' surprise, but then again, he did say he was happy Hermione found someone who made her happy, and Severus did that indeed.

Jerry cued to recessional music, which to Hermione's slight annoyance was Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" as it started to pick up around the seven and a half minute mark as the lead baritone singer launched into the recognizable melody. And while she thought it was a bit over the top, she conceded it was the perfect song as it was a joyous occasion for her and Severus.

The bridal couple led the way down from the pergola down to the back patio and lowest level deck where hors d'oeuvres and refreshments were being served, Meanwhile, Mario and his catering crew worked to reset the area under the pergola for the late bridal luncheon that would begin shortly.

To Hermione and Severus' relief, Jerry changed the music. Once the bridal couple and most of the guests were on the patio, he switched the music to something soothing, a compilation of jazz tunes both classic and contemporary that were unobtrusive to conversation as it played quietly in the background.

Lavender came up to the couple to wish them well, and began to talk with Hermione about her wedding sari. Albert and Tim asked Severus about the many colorful plants used to landscape the backyard and how did he get the gardenias to bloom so prolifically. Ron was busy shoving one of every kind of hors d'oeuvre into his mouth, not wanting to miss one.

"What is this?" Ron asked Hermione with a rapturous look about his face as he chewed with gusto.

"Duck lumpia with hoisin sauce, a little dish we came across in the Philippines while Severus joined me on a quick business trip there to meet with a distributor. She took us to this great restaurant in... where was it? Manila or Cebu City?" Hermione asked, turning to her husband.

"Lipa City," Severus jogged her memory as he handed her a glass of champagne. Then he discreetly slipped his arm around his bride's waist, his fingers lightly skating across her back where her skin was exposed just below her choli, before his hand finally rested upon her hip. He was rewarded with a restrained shiver Hermione tried to tamp down that was noticed only by him.

"Well, the food is fantastic," Ron professed earnestly around a mouthful of goat cheese wonton, a few drops of the cranberry-ginger dipping sauce clinging to the corner of his mouth and the edge of his mustache. He was oblivious to the way Hermione's eyes briefly fluttered shut.

Knowing if she did not escape from Severus' attention, he would continue to tease her mercilessly in hopes of having her aggressively pounce upon him later, she slid from his grasp. She cast a faux coquettish look over her shoulder at him that two could play at that game.

Hermione also figured it was probably a good opportunity to grab a bite finally, feeling relaxed enough to grab a mini-samosa from a tray that floated by. She popped it into her mouth and savored it, now that everything was in Mario's capable hands and the ceremony was over.

Zhubanysh came over at this time to pass on a message of congratulations from James Hoover, since Hermione had stopped seeing the Muggle therapist some months prior, feeling as though she had worked through her issues with him long-distance. Mrs. Potter worked with James part-time now, a few days a week, helping him with his wizarding clients where there was fear, trauma, or anxiety involved that hampered his ability to help them. She would teach the client's partner who had come along how to help soothe the witch or wizard's mind to calm them enough so that James could help them. If the client was alone, she sang to them instead, using her compassion to help soothe them. James found that love and compassion, as given through song and intent, was a far better alternative to a pharmacological solution for some of his magical clients who needed to calm down before addressing problems. Hermione was glad that Zhubanysh's special talent was being shared and taught to those who needed it most.

There was another round of excited screams from the children's garden as the elves and someone from Mario's catering staff brought sparkling pumpkin juice for the children, to keep them cool and hydrated in the warm Hawaiian sun, what with all the rigorous playing they were engaged in.

Hermione's parents greeted the bride and groom, welcoming Severus into the family formally, though they had already done that when they met up during part of Christmas break in Greece. Hermione and Severus had periodically met up with her parents, since she did promise to stay in better contact with them now that she no longer had Weasley family obligations to keep her away. Living on the other side of the world was less an impediment of her visiting with her parents than the endless Weasley family engagements she was formerly obliged to attend that was now Lavender's duty. And given Lavender's blackmail capabilities over Molly, Lavender kept her own attendance to a manageable schedule. Even Ron agreed, amazed at his wife’s ability to talk them out of attending every Weasley function, that it was nice not to have so many family gatherings all the time.

For in-laws, Severus was quite pleased Hermione's parents were such agreeable and sensible people. So it did not bother him that a few times a year they met up with her parents abroad, such as Poland, Canada or the Caribbean. They might go see one or two sites together and enjoy dinner together one night, but otherwise left the young couple to their own devices. Much to Severus' relief, the Drs. Grangers did not want to spend the entire time together with their daughter, understanding the need for the young couple be left alone. Even for the week before the wedding, they stayed at Justina's hotel knowing that for the fact they did not have wands would mean they would require more help around the Snape house, where as Justina's hotel was adapted for Muggles already.

"I don't see Blanche here. I thought you said you invited her," Albert queried Severus on the whereabouts of the owner of the very lucrative Miniature Man-Eating Miniature Masdevallia orchid farm.

"She was, along with the children, but unfortunately there was a death in the family that required her to Portkey to Ohio a few days ago. I know you were going to discuss techniques on how to train them for pots so they thrive for distribution, since orchids are your specialty. I do not know how long she'll be gone, since she said there would most likely be family drama involving her brother who feels aggrieved that she isn't supporting him like she is her husband, who last she heard was living on a fishing boat in San Diego."

Albert shook his head thankful his children and various grandchildren all got along harmoniously.

Trevor Spawn was also invited, but could not make it either since his master, Royston Bentwick, refused to let him go that weekend to Hawaii. The Potions master was still rather miffed at Hermione and Severus over the doozy of a prank she laid upon him at the booze-up they had at Niles' house after she was certified by the committee three months prior. Given the effects of the prank, it was no wonder Royston was royally pissed at the Snapes and refused Trevor the chance to attend.

Severus' mind also was thinking about certain parties acting harmoniously with each other as well. He glanced over at the still slightly astounding sight of Draco and Potter talking with each other rather amicably, which still boggled him; he also saw their wives, Ginny and Zhubanysh, getting on like old friends without a smidgen of animosity between the two witches. Zhubanysh even thanked Ginny for leaving Harry when she did, for if events had played out otherwise, Zhubanysh and her husband would have never met. And if Zhubanysh was never in Potter's life, then Severus may not have been able to bring Hermione back, thanks to the witch's special magical healing technique she taught him.

To avoid awkwardness, there were a few people Hermione did not invite, most notably the Longbottoms and the Krums. Hermione understood Severus' rather unforgiving grudge and jealous streak where Neville was concerned. Though Luna and Neville had invited Hermione to their own wedding, even Hermione felt rather uncomfortable being there and was only at their reception briefly before making a hasty retreat. Regarding Viktor and Anne, Hermione eventually told Severus about her dinner with them and the accidental revelation. There was a somewhat awkward conversation that followed, given they had not discussed Severus' former profession for some time, but it was mutually agreed that though Hermione was friends with the Krums, they would not be invited for everyone's sake and sanity.

Mario announced that lunch was ready, much to the delight of the children who had only had a light snack before the wedding and who were now famished after playing so rigorously. Ron grabbed a last miniature cha siu bao and cucumber cup filled with ceviche before he followed the rest of the guests back up to the deck under the pergola, that had now been set up with a table arrangement in the shape of a large U.

The only arranged seating was a spot in the middle of the table configuration where the bride and groom could view all their guests, who sat on either side of the table. Having no seating arrangements was one less thing for Hermione to deal with, on top of running a business and training Akela, her Potions apprentice.

Lavender and Mounga wound up sitting next to each other as Lavender was also visiting Malu Palekaiko for business, seeking to finalize buying a large piece of property on the west side of the island, with plans to open a resort and spa there. The site had a hot springs on it, which cost a pretty Knut since the owner of that particular spring had Manny – Severus' old real estate agent – negotiate the deal on his behalf, and Manny was a very good negotiator. Lavender had been prompted to open a hot springs spa and resort after hearing Hermione and Severus bemoan that though the hot springs they had use of one day a week was very nice, they missed certain things from Madam Hope's Springs Eternal and Day Spa, like the natatorium, dry sauna, steam rooms, hot and cold plunges, and spa treatments.

And then there was the fact that since Malu Palekaiko was very Muggle-friendly, given the number of mixed couples on the island, there would be a need to make the proposed what the local building code regulators called "Muggle-compliant," which meant Lavender's architects back in London would have to personally come out and work with the government officials instead of the usual conference through mirror or albatross. Given how long it took to get final approval for her manufacturing facility a few years ago, she wanted to expedite the process.

Hermione watched nervously as Fred and George sat close to her parents and hoped the twins had the good sense to behave. With a stern glance, she gave them a warning with the flash of her eyes, darting to her parents indicating that what she did to Niles, Braxton, and Royston would pale in comparison if they pranked any of her Muggle relations. Fred gave her a reassuring smile that there would be no cause to worry, but he cast his eyes toward Ron with a mischievous smile towards her ex-husband. Hermione gave him a nod of approval that Ron was fair game.

Severus, who caught the nonverbal exchange between the two, asked, "Should we have antidotes ready?"

"Depends on how much pity you feel for Ron," she retorted, amused when Severus did not suppress a wicked grin.

"Yeah! Mac and cheese!" some of the children cheered, as bowls of the cheesy dish appeared in front of them. The children were finally seated next to and across from their parents as the salad course was served to the adults. And it was a fair number of children being served, the ratio of guests being three adults for every two children.

"It's pasta with a blended cheese sauce," Severus grumbled under his breath, loathing that particular American name for the dish. He speared his melon, prosciutto, and feta salad with some malice as Hermione patted his knee to soothe him. Few things nettled Severus unlike food being called by inappropriate names, which was going to make the soup course rather challenging, given Mario made gazpacho according to Severus' recipe. Severus still was rather aggrieved over the fact that his soup was once referred to as "salsa." And then there was the incident when Rainbow referred to his braised veal and pork pâté as "meatloaf." This wedding was the first time the Finaus had been back to dine at the Snapes' residence since that culinary misunderstanding.

Ginny and Draco seated themselves and their brood almost directly across from the bride and groom. Their children were sandwiched between them in order to better monitor them and prevent food from being flung, a recent bad habit the Malfoy children had discovered when one triplet's magic kicked in one day and a plate of grilled courgettes suddenly went sailing across the room. Phoenix was the one who hated courgettes, so it was most likely her magic that caused the plate to suddenly levitate and fly across the room with the plate shattering into large pieces, much to the triplets' delight and Ginny and Draco's distress. Now plates and bowls were spelled with sticking charms. Fortunately, Mario was an expert at catering events with children present; he made sure everyone's plate would stay firmly on the table with the appropriate spells to prevent such inadvertent disasters.

The wine flowed freely as Hermione and Severus had been stocking their cellar recently with trips to the West Coast of the mainland, as Lavender wanted feedback and reports on Muggle and wizarding spa resorts in order to design towards regional tastes. Many of those trips involved going to spa resorts on the other Hawaiian islands and Northern California's wine country where there were hotels and spas built around hot springs in the area. Severus had, upon a thorough tour of several Muggle and wizarding wineries of the area, finally conceded that the Americans could indeed make some wines on par with the Europeans. The lightly sweet Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc from the Sonoma Valley balanced out the acid and vinegar of the tomato-based Spanish soup. For the children, the sparkling pumpkin juice that flowed freely was worth it to put up with the fact their parents had put them into fancy clothes for the day.

Albert, who sat on Hermione's right, asked how Akela's apprenticeship was coming along as the soup course was finally cleared away.

"She's an apt student, but a bit overly sure of herself at times, an attitude that would have been brought more into line if Severus had the chance to tutor her and teach her a bit of humility," Hermione confessed, knowing that her husband was pretending not to listen in on their conversation.

Severus stopped the facade and confirmed he was eavesdropping when he mentioned casually, "If I recall, I did teach you, yet your own self-assured cockiness in the classroom did not seem to falter despite my best attempts to temper it."

"You used to confuse cockiness with rigorous studying, darling," she said with saccharine sweetness.

"And you used to confuse studying with wisdom and experience," he gently reminded her.

This comment made Hermione nod her head in agreement that while in school she was extremely naive about certain things. She now looked back on them with some embarrassment, but chalked it up to her own youthful guilelessness.

"Come, children, don't bicker; it's your wedding day," Albert gently chided them.

To the bridal couple's consternation, George piped up, "Bickering is probably their form of foreplay!"

George's comment earned a few glares from nearby parents, who were hoping the sexually-laced innuendo would fly over their children's heads.

"Four-play? Is that a game that requires four people to play?" Devlin asked his father innocently. This made Ron choke on his wine, and Lavender glared at her brother-in-law for his comment that prompted her son's remark.

Devlin's plain-spoken question sent Tim, Jerry, Mounga, and the twins into fits of laughter that earned them harsh glares from many of the women sitting next to them.

"Sometimes, if it's that type of marriage," Hermione heard Draco mutter under his breath in a slightly derogatory manner, too quietly for Devlin to have overheard. Draco's comment indicated that while others may have such an arrangement, he found the idea of sharing his wife with anyone distasteful.

Hermione noticed that Harry heard Draco's comment and blushed, a sign he was still somewhat uncomfortable with the topic of sex and the memory of both wizards sleeping with Ginny during the same time period.

Fortunately, lunch was served for the adults, which distracted everyone from the topic at hand. People had the choice of either chilled poached salmon with cucumber dill sauce, lightly dressed greens, and cold buckwheat soba noodles – or the leg of lamb with grilled eggplant, curried garbanzo beans, and couscous, with mango chutney, of course. Hermione felt that with so many people coming from England, having a cold option in the warm climate might help them combat the tropical climate that could become a bit overwhelming in the afternoons until one acclimated, even with the shade of the pergola overhead and a few Cooling Charms.

Since the children ate their meals during the adults' salad and soup course, most parents excused their children from the table to play for a bit more before it was time for a nap.

With the children mostly gone from the table, all the adults began to relax and enjoy their entrees, now that the sibling bickering had been banished to the children's area of the backyard. Josephine demanded to know when she was going to get her chocolate cake, but was told firmly by her mother it would be later after the adults were done with lunch and the meal settled a bit. The child knew from her mother's clipped tone that further questions as to when she would have cake would result in no cake at all, and she ran off to amuse herself with her cousins and other children playing.

Devlin and Michael decided that "mac and cheese" was below their palate standards and held out for the adult fare, enjoying the salad, but passing on the chilled vegetable soup. Conversation flowed more freely with the children away from the table, helped with an excellent Merlot that complimented the lamb and a fantastic Riesling that had Lavender asking about the vineyard and vintage, wanting to order a few cases for her own cellar at home.

As people were finishing their lunch, there was a tapping of a glass coming from the direction of where Mounga was sitting, and the growing chant of "kiss, kiss, kiss."

Hermione and Severus sighed, knowing they could not escape all wedding traditions, but agreed to amuse the crowd, not minding to kiss for everyone's amusement this once.

Ginny, who took her camera back from Greg after the ceremony, played photographer during the reception. She asked for the couple to wait a second while she whipped out her camera. Severus merely rolled his eyes, noting the spontaneity of the moment was somewhat hampered with a request to wait.

Now that she had given the signal that she was ready, Hermione shrugged noncommittally, feeling as if it was yet another performance for the benefit of others.

Severus leaned forward, but stopped short, his lips a mere inch from hers. Hermione was ready for him to perfunctorily plant one on her, but was perplexed when he withheld his lips from hers. As she began to crane her neck forward, Severus retreated while keeping his lips close to hers, but not touching. Hermione smiled, wondering what Severus' game was, a game that would be more suited to the bedroom given his playful sultry smile he was giving her. She began sitting back, but then Severus' lips chased hers, still unwilling to let their mouths meet, but still keeping his face close to hers.

"Sev–" Hermione began to protest at his game, but was cut short when he leaned forward swiftly and captured her mouth with a kiss, surprising her.

Hermione melted against him as he wrapped an arm around her and trailed a finger along her jaw tenderly. They felt the pull to let their kiss deepen and become more impassioned unaware of Ginny taking their photograph, but withdrew when they heard the crude wolf whistles from Jerry and the twins.

"Didn't take you for a tease, Snape," Fred called out, which earned a quick glare from Severus.

Kaimi, who had been sitting at one end of the table with her family, suddenly felt very protective of her Uncle Severus and Aunt Hermione who were obviously uncomfortable with these sexual innuendos she had not missed and made her blush furiously. Knowing it would be bad form for the bride and groom to hex guests, Kaimi felt duty-bound to do something to protect their honor, since they were far above what Uncle Severus called crude humor. While Fred and George were busy laughing, Kaimi discreetly whipped out her wand and silently performed a Jelly Legs Jinx equivalent on the rear legs of their chairs, causing the wine they were holding in their hands to be spilled into their laps while they simultaneously fell flat on their backs. For a nearly eleven-year-old, Kaimi was very deft with a wand, having honed her skills against her older siblings now that she had a wand to defend herself since turning ten.

Everyone around the table began laughing, even earning a smirk from the groom and a smile hidden behind the hand of the bride.

Mounga noticed Kaimi wasn't laughing, but looking rather smug. When he arched a brow to her in question, she merely replied too innocently, "Yes, Papa?" He gave his daughter a warring look of pride and suspicion.

Severus looked about to see who'd cast the spells, figuring he knew who it was. Upon spying Kaimi, she merely gave the groom a genteel nod, indicating she had fulfilled her duties, as Severus had warned her ahead of time that the twins might need a discreet hex to pull them back into line if their wives did not. Severus gave her a nod back indicating that was enough, and he would handle any more bad behavior personally. Given her age, she was maturing in a way that was surprising for her youth. Going to the new wizarding school had exposed her to a greater social dynamic than she was exposed to when she was exclusively home-schooled, and she was now forced to socialize with kids she normally would not have dealt with before.

The year before a few boys at school called Kaimi some rather nasty names and put her into tears. Kaimi's parents spoke to the young wizards' parents, which only seemed to make matters worse. Severus seemed to be the only one who could truly sympathize with her plight, as she had gone to him for advice since the taunting had increased. He then taught her some rather inventive hexes and jinxes, and even instructed her how to stow her wand away quickly enough up a sleeve so that no one noticed that she was the one who cast it. It wasn't exactly proper for one of the Governors of the school board to be teaching a student how to cast spells that were against the school's code of conduct, but as he made exceptions for his Slytherins when he was Head of House, he was just as fiercely protective of Kaimi. He was sure that if she went to Hogwarts instead of the local academy, Kaimi surely would have been sorted into either Ravenclaw or Slytherin, as she was a rather clever and resourceful witch.

"All right, all right," Fred and George said, knowing they were getting a bit carried away. "Ten points to whoever cast that. We get the point," George admitted. They stood up and spelled away the wine stains and fixed their chairs, testing them before sitting back down in them once more.

Things settled down. Some of the guests started moving about to various chairs at other ends to talk with people they didn't have a chance to converse with before.

Hermione sat back and swirled her glass of Merlot with a practiced hand, looking quite serene. This was, in her mind, what a wedding should be like, a large dinner – or luncheon – party among friends without the restrictive formality. There was no fretting about perfect décor or rituals that made her feel like she was observing some custom that made her feel like a piece of property passed off. Her feeling was that some acts performed during a traditional wizard wedding were antiquated procedures that served no purpose other than to add irrelevant flamboyant rituals for show and little else. To reduce her stress, Hermione picked out her own bridal bouquet, but let Ginny pick her own flowers. She even let the florist have free license to design the floral display on the table with the one restriction that it wasn't to be so large that it would take up large amounts of table space, and that it would not prevent people from easily seeing their dining companions over them.

The biggest decision Hermione had to make in preparation of the wedding was which of the dozens of beautiful red and gold bridal saris to pick from, and which design for the ruby and golden sapphire earrings to pick to go with the necklace Severus had spotted in a jeweler's window in Varanasi and insisted he buy for her immediately. She even let Severus plan the menu with Mario, with a suggestion of a cool lunch option, which most of the visiting British contingent ate; she'd predicted they would be unable to face a hot lunch on a warm day, even with the gentle breeze coming up from the ocean.

"You look relaxed. So I'm guessing you're actually enjoying your own wedding for once," Severus asked his bride.

"Having Molly not present playing Attila the Wedding Coordinator helps greatly. And you taking over the catering was also a relief. Jerry arranging the music as DJ and keeping the music light and pleasant – despite his jibe he was going to add AC/DC's 'Highway to Hell' or 'Victim of Love' by the Eagles to your music box for the bridal processional – was one less thing to coordinate. And Rainbow, Akela, and Kaimi's offer to help with anything else I neither had the time nor inclination to deal with was also a joy." Hermione tipped her glass up and took a sip, savoring the balance of flavors and the tannins that washed over her tongue. She was glad Severus had the foresight to buy six cases, since they probably had gone through almost a case at the reception alone, and that was just the Merlot. A whole case of Riesling had probably been polished off by now.

Severus leaned over and placed a chaste kiss against her neck that sent a shiver up her spine. If anyone had spied the couple in this brief intimate moment, no one made comment, continuing on with their conversations.

Parents left the table to take children – who were starting to cry, get cranky from exhaustion, or had literally fallen asleep on the grass – off to the room set up for naps. Once they had returned from setting wee ones down, Jerry got up from his seat across from Fred and his wife, Grace, to approach the bridal couple. "Think we can talk you two into one dance for tradition?"

While Hermione and Severus did not plan to have dancing, they were amenable to the suggestion. They decided to stick with a simple foxtrox since Hermione was not used to dancing in a sari, even though it was charmed not to come undone.

Jerry set the music box to play "At Last," that particular rendition by Etta James, who Jerry coached Draco to imitate when he serenaded them during Hermione's Christmas visit at Bongo's.

It was a small area just large enough to dance within the U-shape of the tables.

"Are you ready to be dipped?" Severus asked, hearkening back to their first dance lesson when Hermione pitched over and pulled him down, after telling him years ago how Ron dropped her at their wedding.

"As long as it's you doing the dipping, and thank you for not stepping on my feet," she added, remembering how Ron tromped on her sandal-exposed toes.

They moved perfectly in time to the music, having danced to it many times before, the song supplanting the song about San Francisco as Hermione's favorite. At the end, Severus spun her under his arm and then dipped her with grace and ease. As he brought her up, he planted a kiss sweetly upon her lips, much to her delight; this earned some soft murmurs of appreciation from the guests for the tender gesture.

A few of the other guests decided to get up and dance a bit, now that the bride and groom sat down. The Potters, the Malfoys, and George and his wife, Florence, got up for a quick spin. Since there was little room within the confines of the U-shaped table arrangement, Akela and Tristan danced on the deck just below the one where the tables were, and were eventually joined by her parents.

Katrina and Veronica, the cats, decided that since the children were gone, they could grace everyone with their presence. They sauntered into the backyard and flopped on their sides, sunning themselves now that the motley muster of moppets was finally gone.

Not long after, children began to wake from naps, fully re-energized and ready for the promise of chocolate cake to be fulfilled. The emergence of the loud and grabby urchins caused Katrina and Veronica to seek shelter in the front yard where they could continue to sun and nap undisturbed.

Hermione and Severus cut the cake together, cajoled into yet another ceremonial gesture, as Ginny snapped away with her camera. Ginny had taken up the hobby of photography so she could take photos of her students during dance recitals, and she enjoyed taking snaps of her children. There was one framed photo of hers that Severus and Hermione had put on the mantle. It featured a sleeping Draco on the couch, looking quite exhausted, with scruff on his face, but happy, with all three of the children, when they were still small infants. Draco held one of the girls in each arm and had Sebastian sleeping on his tummy on his father's chest. In the photos you could see Draco's chest rise and fall slowly along with little chubby hands opening and closing as they slept and little mouths periodically making the sucking motions. It was the Snapes' favorite photo of their godchildren.

The bridal couple delicately fed each other a single bite without any of the childishness the Malfoys engaged in at their own wedding. Severus gave Draco a smirk of triumph that he had not succumbed to such antics.

Sitting down as Mario began cutting the cake and serving it to the guests, Hermione leaned close to Severus' ear, whispering intentionally so that her warm breath grazed his ear, "We'll have to make sure to take some cake along with us for the honeymoon. Who knows how long it will take for you to lick all that frosting off my breasts or me to nibble away the last of the crumbs from your stomach, and lower." Before withdrawing, Hermione gave Severus' ear a delicate swipe of her tongue, which made a very low-register sigh escape from his slightly parted lips.

"Didn't I warn you about teasing the animals before?" he softly warned her with a playful growl, his hand slipped around her back to caress her spine below her choli once more.

"It's not teasing if it's a promise," she reminded him innocently.

As everyone was eating cake, Draco stood with a glass of champagne that was served with dessert. "I'd like to propose a toast. To Hermione and Severus. May your love be ever growing, your blessings boundless, your tears be only joyful ones, and your sorrows few. To the bride and groom!" It was a toast of similar hope for the future that Severus had given at Draco's wedding.

Everyone said, "Cheers!"

Many of the guests remarked what a wonderful cake it was, as the use of cherries in the cake along with the fudgy chocolate base was decadent. Of course the second tier was plain chocolate cake since some of the children preferred their cake without the addition of fruit to the cake batter. Severus and Hermione smiled secretly, remembering how one of their first bets involved that very same cake recipe Severus served long ago.

Arnold decided that this was a perfect time to serenade the bridal couple, and he sang a beautiful a capella version of Elvis' song "Can't Help Falling In Love." The lyrics rang quite true for the couple for they could not help but fall in love with each other, despite how much they fought against it at first.

As Arnold finished with a bow, with a sincere round of applause from the guests, Uncle Tim went up to Arnold and praised him for his wonderful Elvis impression. He then committed the inadvertent social blunder of asking if Arnold had ever tried to enter an Elvis impersonator contest, for as Tim professed, he would surely be a winner.

Hermione sat there with her head in her hand groaning silently to herself, while Severus watched with amusement as Arnold turned five shades of red before quietly storming off. The bride wondered if she should have warned her Uncle Tim that the reason why Arnold had sought sanctuary years ago was that Arnold had bought a lock of Elvis' hair at a Muggle auction, then proceeded to brew Polyjuice Potion and enter Elvis impersonator competitions Polyjuiced into the "King of Rock 'n Roll." When the Japanese and American magical governments got wind of this, Arnold hightailed it to Malu Palekaiko and had been a resident there ever since. Since Arnold's granting of sanctuary, sighting of Elvis in the Muggle gossip rags dropped dramatically. However, since it was not Hermione's place to share Arnold's tale, she never made a point of warning her uncle not to say anything about it. Ranjit went off to assure Arnold that Hermione's Muggle relation meant no insult, and that he should take it as a compliment regarding his Elvis impersonating skills without the use of Polyjuice Potion.

Since most of the single witches at the wedding were aged six and under, with the exception of the Finau girls and Fastrada, who was a widow and not interested in any rituals for finding a new husband, the tossing of the bouquet was omitted from the itinerary that afternoon. Severus and Hermione both agreed without question the tossing of the garter was not going to happen. Period.

In addition, Akela had asked her mistress on advice about how to stop her mother from nagging her about when she and Tristan were going to get married; Akela recalled hearing similar stories about Hermione's ex-mother-in-law. A bouquet landing in Akela's lap would only add fuel to Rainbow's harping. Besides, Hermione thought it a shame that a bride always gave away such a beautiful and sentimentally meaningful bouquet of flowers. Hermione had heard from her Aunt Christine about how most Muggle brides kept their wedding bouquet and ordered a small tossing one instead to throw, which inspired Hermione to make sure to spell her flowers with a preserving charm, keeping them looking fresh and vibrant as their wedding day, before they left on their honeymoon.

Now that cake had been served and it was getting late in the afternoon, many people with children decided to call it a day.

Josephine had begun whinging about going to the beach to go swimming, taking her father's earlier suggestion as a promise instead. Ron looked to his oldest brother and asked pleadingly, "Bill? When do the terrible twos stop?"

"Around the time they take their N.E.W.T.s and start living on their own," Bill quipped, looking over at his eldest, Michael, playing with Devlin, looking like they were plotting something again. Though those two could be quite the devious pair at times, he was glad Michael had a cousin the same age and have someone he could pal around Hogwarts with when they both started in about three years. He was also glad that friendship between Houses was much more prevalent after the war instead of the constant rivalry that bordered on animosity, though Slytherin and Gryffindor were still a contentious pair, which he'd heard from Sprout. Michael was most likely going to be a Gryffindor, but who knew which House Devlin would be sorted into.

Before guests started departing, Ginny wrangled all the children together so that there would be a picture of the bride with all of them. Ginny had seen it in a Muggle book on photography she had bought and thought it a charming idea. The children did not, however. There was a special bribe of more treats from some of the parents of the more unruly children, which quelled them into smiling sweetly for the few seconds required to take the photo. Of course, after Ginny took the photo, everyone with spawn in the picture wanted a copy for themselves. Ginny promised she would send them off as soon as she could develop and make prints, having had a dark room built in a small office cottage they had added to their property in the back. The cottage also held a sewing room for Ginny to make costumes and Draco's quilting supplies, as well as a small belly-dancing practice studio.

Guests began departing, wishing the couple well. There were hugs and kisses, with Severus shaking hands only with any wizard who was a Weasley or a Potter. The Malfoys stuck around along with Hermione's parents, Albert, the Finau family, Tristan, and Jerry.

After draining the last of the champagne from her flute, Hermione asked her old Master, "Don't let me forget to give you Royston's antidote before you leave tonight. Three months of punishment is surely enough, though you can take your time giving it to him if you think he's still not sorry yet."

"Oh, trust me," Albert assured her with a hearty reply, "he's most utterly, deeply, regretfully sorry."

"Good," Severus said, almost crooning with glee, looking very satisfied.

"You never did say exactly what your revenge was," prompted Mounga, hoping to finally get the details.

Hermione looked about and noticed that Kaimi was off playing with the Malfoy triplets in the kinders' garten. Iakona was sixteen and probably old enough to hear it, but she was glad to notice that Iakona was in the kitchen getting more to eat, as Mario and his crew were wrapping things up and cleaning the kitchen before leaving. The Finau's son was going through yet another growth spurt.

Quietly, so only the adults present could hear, she said, "Well, the twins came up with the idea, but it required a great deal of research on our part..." Hermione stopped and turned to her husband, "... would you say it was reverse-engineering, or would you say it was something completely new?"

"Oh, something completely new, I'd say," Severus said darkly, crossing his legs while remembering the final end result, glad he and Hermione had an antidote ready that worked.

Albert laughed, understanding that Severus had put himself into the line of testing and felt some pity for him.

"And what exactly did you slip Royston at the party after you passed and became a Potions Mistress?" Mounga prompted her once more.

"Since Royston seemed to have some sort of perverse pleasure in trying to make Severus lay out intimate details and kiss in front of them, I slipped him a potion that every time he gets an erection, his manhood shrinks. The harder it gets, the smaller it is," she said with malicious pride. "And it doesn't wear off; it's permanent until one takes the antidote."

All the men sitting groaned and crossed their legs while the women cackled with amusement or gasped in shock, especially Hermione's mother who did not think her daughter could be so devious.

"And you let her test this on you, Severus?" Jerry asked incredulously.

"I wanted to get him back as badly as Hermione," Severus replied. "And considering I worked alongside of her, between the two of us, we could reverse anything so it was not permanent for me."

"Trust me, the antidote is effective to reverse it completely," Hermione assured them, then blushed considering she said it with a bit too much gusto.

"Damn, the things we do for love," Mounga groaned, making a silent pledge to never get on the Snapes' bad side, considering that Rainbow was still mortified regarding her behavior after sipping Hermione's revenge drink.

"The twins plan on selling it as a sort of jilted-lover revenge potion and promised us forty percent of the profits, since we did all the hard work, with the antidote selling for twice the cost of the original potion," Hermione further explained.

"Gouging Galleons out of those who need it most. One would think the twins should have been sorted into Slytherin instead of noble Gryffindor," Draco noted acerbically.

===============

A/N: I commissioned donkinana (http://dokinana.deviantart.com/) to do the wedding fan art for this chapter. You can view it on my Tumblr page here: http://atdlhea-betz.tumblr.com/image/158121879960

Thank you to my fabulous betas, JuneW and Hope.

Title taken from the Spanish saying: Vivieron felices y comieron perdices (y a mí no me dieron).
Translation: They lived happily and ate partridge (and didn't give me any).
Meaning / English equivalent: And they lived happily ever after.

Quote: "Y'know, you got them bad eyes, like a gypsy." Moonstruck (1987)

A pallu is the decorative edge of a sari that is draped over the shoulder at the end of the fabric.

"Can't Help Falling In Love" written by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss.

There is still the honeymoon and epilogue to come. Stay tuned.
- 116
- 117
- 118
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

And They Didn\'t Live Happily Ever After