Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Lunaticus Book Three: New Moon Rising	By : JBankai89 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Remus Views: 12599 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter, I gain nothing from this but a way to pass the time.

Chapter List
- 37
- 38
- 39
A/N: Epilogue will be posted tomorrow, Sunday, October 22^nd.
Chapter Thirty-Eight – Love Led Us Here

As Harry gazed into the back garden of the Burrow, he found that it had been transformed into a wedding paradise.

The altar stood in the centre and towards the back, leaden with all the tools that the priestess would need for the ceremony. The backdrop of the apple orchard, dusted with fresh snow, made it look like something out of a winter wonderland.

Facing the altar were the guests, all seated in a semicircle on the same spindly golden chairs that had been used at Bill and Fleur's wedding—except Hagrid, who was seated on a sturdy bench at the back. Bouquets of white lilies and pink dogwood were attached to the sides of the chairs that bracketed the central aisle, and they had been threaded with gold ribbon to form a makeshift barricade. On top of it, there were twinkling lights positively everywhere.

Though it was midwinter, the ground had been cleared of frost, and the air was charmed to be as warm as a summer day. With the clear sky above and everything beyond the charmed area twinkling with fros0t, it looked to be the perfect day for a wedding.

Harry and Hermione stood in the Burrow's kitchen, and the dominant werewolf was flushed with excitement. Her eyes were sparkling with joy, and she seemed to be practically glowing as she paced restlessly, waiting for the moment to come. Ginny, who had been standing by quietly in a strapless dress of soft mauve and holding a simple bouquet exchanged a look with Harry, and they both smiled at Hermione's near-blinding excitement.

“Ready to go?” Harry asked Hermione as the first quivering notes of the bridal procession began to play. Ginny stepped past them with a little wave and began to make her way down the aisle, and Hermione smoothed her hands down the front of her dress nervously.

“How do I look?” she asked, her voice quivering a little, and Harry answered her with a warm smile.

“Great,” he replied. “Seriously, you look beautiful. Ron's a lucky bloke.”

She smiled warmly, her eyes shining, and she plucked up her bouquet of lilies and baby's breath off the little scrubbed table. She took a little breath, and beamed at her friend.

“Then yes,” she said at last, “I'm ready.”

Harry held out his arm to her, and she took it with one hand, the other still clutching her bouquet tightly. Harry reached for the back door as they approached it, and tugged it open. The pair stepped down onto the grass just as Ginny moved to the left side of the priestess, and as all eyes turned to them, the assembled crowd seemed to let out a collective sigh.

As one, all the guests stood up to watch their procession down the aisle, and for once in his life, Harry had no issue with so many people staring at him. He kept his eyes forward as they walked, and felt a lump form his his throat when he noticed that Hermione was crying, but smiling, and as he shifted his gaze to Ron, he watched as the ginger brought his hands up to cup his face. Harry knew by the way that his best mate's eyes shone that he, too, was crying, and Harry was certain that he might burst with joy for the pair of them.

They stopped just before the altar. Harry hung back as Hermione stepped forward, pausing just long enough to hand her bouquet to Ginny before she moved the rest of the way over to Ron, and took his hands.

Harry spotted Remus and the others seated near the front, and as quickly as he could, he slipped into the row of chairs and sat next to Remus. They threaded their fingers together and shared a quick smile, then refocused their gazes on the ceremony.

“In the name of the Gods, we welcome you to this union of two souls,” the priestess said as she addressed the crowd. “May the Ancient ones bring about this bonding, and bless it.”

“So mote it be!” answered the crowd, and Harry followed along as best he could. When he stumbled over the words he heard Remus chortle softly, and offered the sub's hand a small squeeze.

“Ronald Bilius Weasley, Hermione Jean Granger,” the priestess continued, addressing each of them in turn, “you have chosen to speak your vows from your heart, are you prepared?”

“Yes,” they both said at the same time, their hands still twined together.

“Hermione?” the priestess prompted, and she nodded, still sniffling a little. The crowd tittered with good-natured laughter when Ron produced a handkerchief for her, and she dabbed her eyes carefully to keep her makeup from running.

“Ron,” Hermione said, her voice still a little croaky, “we've been through everything together. We've faced mountain trolls in school lavatories, and giant chess sets, we've hunted Horcruxes, and made a career out of keeping our best friend from getting himself killed—” she paused when the crowd laughed, and Harry's face burned with embarrassment.

“—And then we got together,” Hermione continued, “and it could have been a lot of things, but it's been like a fairy tale. We've had our hardships—some of the normal kind, like trying to have a baby,” one of her hands untangled from Ron's to touch her stomach, “and some of it dealing with our new inter-species romance over the last few months. One thing that's not changed is how I feel for you. I love you, Ronald Weasley, and I always will. I will fight for you, I will protect you. You are everything to me.”

There was a brief pause, and Hermione handed Ron back his handkerchief with a soft giggle, and he dabbed his eyes.

“Ron?” the priestess prompted, and Harry watched his hands tense slightly over Hermione's.

“Hermione,” he said in reply, his voice just as hoarse with an overwhelm of emotion as Hermione's was, “I've never been like you, you're too good for me. I'm a little thick, and I don't always know what the right thing to say is.” Harry smirked at this, the Yule Ball fiasco immediately coming to mind as Ron continued. “But one thing I know for sure is what I feel for you. I love you, Hermione, and that will never change. It doesn't matter to me whether you're human, or a werewolf, or a bl—or a garden gnome.”

He flushed with embarrassment when the crowd laughed, and Harry distinctly heard Molly say, “oh, really.” Though he had a feeling it had to do with his near-curse in his wedding vows more than anything else.

“I know at times when we were younger I wasn't the best friend,” Ron continued, “I did stupid things, and I hurt you when I didn't take the time to think through what I was saying or doing. I like to think I've learnt from those mistakes, and now, and in the future, I swear to you that I will always be there for you, Hermione. I love you more than I can say.”

In the silence that followed, Harry heard the distinct foghorn honk of Hagrid blowing his nose, and he laughed softly when he felt Remus's thumb tickle across his cheek to wipe away a tear. When Harry turned to look at him, he saw that Remus's eyes were just as glassy as his were, and Harry mirrored his mate by reaching up to brush away the stray tear that trickled down his cheek.

“Ronald and Hermione have spoken their vows of love, friendship, and fidelity to one another,” the priestess announced, drawing Harry and Remus's attention back to the ceremony. “If anyone present knows of any reason why these two should not be joined, please speak now.”

“Sit down, Fenrir,” Adina suddenly growled softly, and Harry turned to see both Tavish and Adina glaring at their mate who had lifted an inch or two from his seat, and the two subs were carrying clear don't even think about it looks upon their faces.

Harry bit his lip to keep from laughing, and turned his attention back to the ceremony.

“May I have the rings?” the priestess asked, and George got up, carrying with him a small violet pillow, upon which sat two golden bands.

Harry half-expected the thing to explode, or turn the priestess into a giant hamster, or something. For once however George behaved himself, and the priestess accepted the small pillow from him before he returned to his seat. She offered it to Ron and Hermione, and they each accepted the other's ring.

“Hermione,” the priestess said as Ron held her left hand in his, the ring positioned above her third finger. “Do you wish to tie yourself to Ronald Weasley in love, friendship, and fidelity; in times of peace and sorrow, of richness and poverty, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?”

“I do,” she replied at once, and her smile widened when Ron slid the ring into place.

“Ronald,” the priestess said as Hermione mirrored him, taking his hand and positioning the ring. “Do you wish to tie yourself to Hermione Granger in love, friendship, and fidelity; in times of peace and sorrow, of richness and poverty, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?”

“I do,” he answered, his voice ringing with absolute certainty, and Harry saw Hermione's eyes brim with tears again as she slid the ring onto his finger.

“By the power vested in me, on behalf of the Gods, and by the love and support of those assembled, I now pronounce you...bonded for life. You may now kiss.”

The couple needed no further invitation, and Harry watched as Ron and Hermione, both smiling brightly closed the distance between each other. Ron's hands fell to Hermione's hips, Hermione's hands lifted to cradle Ron's cheeks, and as they kissed the entire crowd leapt to their feet, applauding and cheering.

Ron and Hermione turned to the crowd as they folded each other into their arms, both of them smiling bashfully to the attention of their family and friends as they waved at everyone. Both were laughing jovially as they strolled back down the aisle amidst the applause and camera flashes.

When some of the exuberant congratulations had died down, Hermione motioned for everyone to stand and spread out. At the same moment, Ron raised his wand to conjure a dozen or so little round tables, just as the altar table was transformed into a large buffet, overloaded with Molly's excellent cooking.

“Tuck in, everyone!” Ron called to a round of laughter, and as one all of the guests migrated over to the table.

All, save for a small group of nine nervous guests.

“Remus,” Harry said suddenly, grabbing his arm to stop him when he noticed that the other pack members had not moved, and he staggered to a stop as he looked back at them.

As a group, they were all eyeing the humans, their mistrust of them very clear. Silas, Wu-Fei, Ulrich, and Greyback all closed ranks around the other subs instinctively, while Tavish, Adina, Sadie, Leticia, and Jade appeared nervous and uncertain.

Before Harry had come to a decision on what to do, Hermione had bustled over to the group with Ron in tow. She skidded to a halt right in front of Greyback, and though Ron appeared nervous, Hermione seemed to be brimming with just as much excitement as before.

“Alpha,” she said as she addressed him, “my mate. Do you accept him?” she leant in to whisper something in Ron's ear, quietly enough that Harry didn't catch it, but he supposed that she was reminding him to submit to Greyback, given that an instant later Ron tilted his head back, and exposed his throat to the alpha.

Greyback reached forward, and closed his hand around the back of Ron's throat. Ron inhaled sharply but did not move, and Harry watched as the alpha leant forward, and bit down lightly on Ron's throat. Harry recognized the body language as one of pack claim, though seeing it in their human forms was a little strange.

“I accept you,” Greyback said as he pulled back, and Hermione beamed while the werewolves applauded, but it was only then that Harry noticed that the assembled crowd of witches and wizards had paused to watch.

Harry turned and saw mingled looks of unease and alarm in their eyes—as well as a scant few who looked on in genuine disgust. Harry felt his insides turn to ice, and he reached for Remus again as he waited for some cue of what to do from either his mate or their alpha.

Suddenly, a loud, booming clap sounded from the back of the garden. Everyone whirled around towards the source of the noise, and Harry's face split into a wide smile.

Hagrid was applauding them enthusiastically, and slowly, the others followed his lead. Soon, every guest was applauding Greyback's acceptance of Ron. Harry beamed at his old friend as it slowly petered out, and the crowd once more began to move towards the buffet table.

“Trust Hagrid to save the day,” Harry said, and Remus chuckled softly as he took Harry's hand, and offered it a small squeeze.

“He's not the Care of Magical Creatures professor for nothing,” Remus replied mildly, “he'd understand better than any wizard the importance of Alpha accepting Ron like that.”

“I hate to imagine what might've happened if he wasn't here,” Harry muttered, and watched as Greyback grabbed a plate, followed by his mates, and they loaded up with food—mostly meat—followed by Ulrich, before at last Harry and the others began to serve themselves, with Silas serving himself last. He could feel the eyes of the other guests on him and their little group, but he did his best to ignore it.

“Likely either you, myself, or one of the newlyweds would have broken it up somehow, but I believe Hagrid's approach was probably best, to avoid making a scene...” Remus trailed off as his eyes flitted over to the table where Ron and Hermione, as well as Molly and Arthur were seated, and they could clearly see Molly fussing over Ron's throat where Greyback had bitten him. His best mate appeared deeply embarrassed by the attention, while there was a distinct look of hurt in Hermione's eyes.

“There's still time,” Harry muttered as he watched them, and quickly piled some food onto his plate before he and Remus moved to join the other werewolves at one of the tables a little farther from the main hustle and bustle of the festivities.

It was a tight squeeze with eleven of them at the table, and Harry took it upon himself to get everyone to stand back up so that he could enlarge it before they all sat down again, this time a little more comfortably.

Just like in the territory, everyone waited for Greyback to start eating before they tucked in themselves, and for the first few minutes, they ate in a tense, uncomfortable silence.

“Not bad, for wizard food,” Tavish said suddenly, then crammed another forkful of beef into his mouth. “A little too well done if you ask me, though.”

“I think I like our food back in the territory more,” chirped Sadie, “makes me glad I chose to leave when I was turned.”

“Yes, that's exactly why we all chose pack life,” said Wu-Fei dryly, “for the food.”

Laughter rang out around the table, and slowly, they relaxed into familiar conversation. Harry didn't talk much, more content to listen and watch as the tension began to dissolve, and Tavish filled the silence with amicable chatter, with Sadie throwing in a word here and there when it got too quiet. Most of the dominants did not contribute, and seemed more interested in keeping an eye on the wizards rather than engage in conversation.

Pudding followed the dinner, and Remus got himself and Harry a piece of the wedding cake to share, which was actually not a cake at all, but an elaborately constructed pyramid of cream puffs and warm sugar syrup that Remus called a Croquembouche. Aside from Harry, no one appeared wholly interested in this fact, or how to properly pronounce it.

As the interest in the food slowly died out, once more Ron took his wand, and the guests seated in the centre of the festivities stood up, enabling him to banish the tables to the edges of the property.

“Everyone, gather round!” Hermione called out to the crowd, “this is a muggle tradition that I insist you all take part in! It's called the Throwing of the Bouquet, and if you catch it, it's believed that you're next to be married! Come on, come on, squeeze in! You too, Alpha!”

The pack howled with laughter when Greyback went very red, and as a group they all stood and followed Hermione's instructions, stopping at the back of the assembled crowd. They'd arrived just in time for them to hear Molly say, “Arthur, for heaven's sake, you're already married,” to which Remus and Harry snorted loudly, while the other pack members eyed them with confusion at their reaction.

Hermione was standing on some kind of stepping stool, and Ron shuffled in next to her upon it as they turned their backs to the crowd, and together they held the bouquet as Hermione began to call out, “one...two...three!”

Together the couple threw the bouquet, and it sailed high over the cheering and jostling crowd, until it bumped squarely against Ulrich's chest, and he caught it on reflex.

The witches in the crowd let out a collective groan while the pack applauded him, and he lifted up the bouquet in acknowledgement, his face a little red with embarrassment.

The werewolves migrated back to their little corner fairly quickly, while at the same time a quartet of violinists set up close to the empty area that would serve as the dance floor. Harry and Remus angled their chairs to watch as Ron and Hermione took to the dance floor alone for their first dance as husband and wife. Harry reached for Remus, and Remus mirrored him, their fingers threading together as the others turned in time to see Ron take Hermione's hands, and he pulled her close.

The violinists struck up a slow, sweet melody, and slowly newlyweds began to rove around the dance floor. Ron moved much more gracefully than Harry would have expected, lending to the possibility that he'd taken lessons prior to the big day. Only Hermione's baby bump separated them, and Harry smiled more broadly as Ron laughed at something that Hermione had said, and he removed one of his hands from hers to touch her stomach briefly.

Harry could not recall any time in recent history where the pair of them looked so happy, and after everything they'd been through, they deserved this happiness.

Slowly, other couples began to join them, and Remus immediately turned more fully to Harry.

“Harry, may I have this dance?” he asked with a small, familiar smile upon his face. For once, Harry had absolutely no objection whatsoever to dancing, and with a broad smile of his own, he got up arm in arm with his mate, and headed for the dance floor.

Harry tried to remember what he knew of dancing from the disaster of the Yule Ball, as well as Bill and Fleur's wedding while they made it to the floor. Thankfully, like back then, he was not the one leading, for which he was very grateful.

Like with cooking and teaching, Remus danced excellently.

He twirled Harry around the dance floor effortlessly. Every small flub of Harry's, when he would trip over himself or accidentally trod on his mate's foot was met with gentle laughter before they went right back to it, as though nothing had interrupted their moment together.

They paused their dancing to to meander over to the buffet table, still leaden with the remnants of the wedding cake-pastry-thing, along with at least two dozen flutes of champagne, charmed to stay chilled.

Harry and Remus each selected a glass, clinked them together, and sipped the drink, standing arm-in-arm as they watched the others. Tavish had dragged Sadie to the dance floor, and Alpha was moving somewhat stiffly with Adina, who looked exasperated at his attitude, but mildly amused at the same time. Most of the other werewolves had not moved from their table in the corner, and were more or less talking amongst themselves, with the dominants taking turns keeping an eye out.

“Harry, look,” Remus whispered suddenly as he nudged him with his elbow.

“What?” Harry hissed back, arching a brow at his mate, and Remus nodded across the dance floor in the direction of the werewolves' table.

“Look,” he repeated, and then Harry saw it. Charlie was edging a little nervously over to the werewolves, his uncharacteristic shyness certainly not unwarranted as both Silas and Wu-Fei took on defensive postures, shielding Leticia and Jade from view. Charlie kept moving, clearly undeterred by their posturing, and stopped directly in front of Ulrich.

Harry watched the ginger motion awkwardly towards the bouquet as he spoke, which had been left haphazardly in the centre of the table, and then to the dance floor. His eyes were wide and hopeful, while Ulrich's expression registered as politely perplexed. The beta's eyes swivelled away from the Weasley, and quickly he found Harry.

“Go on,” Harry mouthed with an encouraging nod, and he grinned when he saw Ulrich nod stiffly and stand up.

“Looks like there might be some truth to that muggle myth after all,” Remus observed, and Harry laughed.

“More Werewolf Weasleys on the way,” Harry replied, “Ron's Auntie Muriel will be thrilled.”

“Ah, so is that why that delightful woman was absent today, or at one hundred and thirteen she's simply too old to enjoy a wedding?”

“Something like that,” Ron said suddenly, and Harry turned to see the newlyweds approaching them. “She had a hard enough time with Fleur 'cause she was French. She almost had a heart attack when I informed her that I was marrying a werewolf. I'm pretty sure Ginny's the only one who she hasn't written out of the will yet, since she married into a respectable family.”

“So former Death Eater and current annoying prat is better than werewolf?” Harry asked with an arched brow, and Ron snorted as Hermione swatted her husband's arm to shush him.

“I heard that, Potty!” Malfoy called from the dance floor, and the three friends laughed as Ginny rolled her eyes and tugged him away.

“Anyway,” Harry said as he turned his attention back to his friends. “Congrats, seriously. Great party. All the right amounts of fun, drama, and tears.”

“It was a bit touch-and-go for a moment there,” Ron added, “Mum about lost her mind when Hermione presented me as her mate, did you see that?”

“We were hoping if we distracted the human guests with food, there'd be less of a...reaction,” Hermione added, and winced. Harry did not miss how Ron squeezed Hermione's hand reassuringly at the same moment.

“We saw,” Harry confirmed, “I guess she still has a little way to go before she's completely accepting, yeah?”

“We'll get her there,” Hermione replied with a nod as she rested her free hand on her stomach. “With her grandpup, I'm sure she'll lose most of her prejudices.”

Harry and Remus laughed at her wording while Ron rolled his eyes, as though he'd heard the term easily a hundred times before.

“All right, come on, Mrs Weasley,” Ron said as the laughter died down, and he tugged on Hermione's hand. “Enough boring chitchat, I want to dance with my wife!”

Hermione's face split into a wide smile, and she fingered a wave at Harry two seconds before she was dragged away by Ron and back onto the dance floor.

“What do you think?” Remus asked as he set down his empty champagne flute. “Fancy another spin?”

~*~

The afternoon gave way to evening, and the lanterns that hung off the edge of the house and along the edges of the property were illuminated, casting the garden in a warm, festive glow. Harry and Remus danced, mingled with their friends, both pack and wizards alike, and after a few hours, they snuck off to the orchard, both of them giggling like a pair of schoolboys as they went.

“Last time we were in here, I don't think it ended too well,” Harry joked as they wove through the trees, and Remus wrapped an arm around Harry's waist to draw him close.

“Yes, it was a bit less fun last time, but I'm pretty sure there's no more evil dark wizards out for your head,” Remus pointed out, and Harry snorted.

“Don't bet on it,” Harry teased as he leant back against one of the nearby trunks, allowing Remus to pin him there while he reached up to drape his arms over his mate's shoulders. “It seems as though some mad wizard or evil alpha is always out to put an end to me.”

“Well...I promise a much better ending this time around,” Remus replied teasingly as he pulled Harry in for a kiss.

Harry happily returned it, his hands moving up Remus's neck as he buried his fingers in his dominant's hair. He shivered with delight as Remus deepened the kiss, coaxing his lips apart as he darted his tongue out to taste him.

“Only good endings from now on,” Harry breathed against the older man's lips, and Remus smiled down at him warmly. He brought a hand to the sub's cheek, and stroked it lightly with his thumb, the look of pure, unabashed love never leaving his eyes.

“That's a promise, Harry.”
A/N: Auntie Muriel was 107 in DH, so I loosely based her age around Harry's birthday to make it easier on my Bad At Math Brain.
- 37
- 38
- 39
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Lunaticus Book Three: New Moon Rising