Seventeen

Thanks go to lyn_f for taking the time to beta this for me. I'm fortunate to have her.

Disclaimer: Not mine. No Galleons made.

"Can you believe this?" Ginny's face nearly matched her hair as she paced across the kitchen. "Harry, you have to do something! I went to her flat, and she wasn't there. Her elf wouldn't say where, exactly, just that she was with him."

Harry's eyes moved from his outraged wife over to his intoxicated friend. Ron had showed up the night before and told Ginny that Hermione was going to marry Draco Malfoy. Then he'd popped away to search them out. It was much later that Arthur Weasley had sent an owl to let Harry know that Ron had struck Draco. Ron had been taken to St. Mungo's to have some boils drained and healed (compliments of Astoria Greengrass). By the time Harry had got there, Ron had already been dosed with a strong sleeping potion. Harry had Transfigured his chair into a comfortable recliner but had also fallen asleep. When he'd awakened, Ron had left already. Harry and Ginny had had to barge their way into his home to check on him, and they'd found him with a bottle of Ogden's Old. He'd refused to be given anything to sober up.

"Well?" Ginny demanded, tapping her foot.

"I agree that Hermione's not made the best decisions lately, but..."

"But?"

Harry again looked at Ron. "But maybe we should leave it be."

"LEAVE IT BE, HE SAYS!" Ron roared suddenly. "Harry, I don't w-want her running, er, ruining her life because I was a right git."

What sort of friend am I? Harry wondered. One of the first things that had come to mind when he'd learned what Hermione was about hadn't been about Ron or even Hermione. It had been about Snape. Snape knew so much about his mum... even his dad. He'd tried to contact Snape a few times to get on good terms. He'd never envisioned him and Snape being mates, but he'd definitely hoped to be able to meet him for coffee now and then to talk about the past. There was so much Harry wanted to know...and not only about his parents. He made a sudden decision.

"Right then. He's not home. She's not home. The Malfoys haven't seen them," Harry said, standing. "I'll start my search in Australia."

"Australia?" Ginny asked incredulously. "What for?"

"Her parents, Gin."

"Harry's right," Ron said, slapping his forehead. "She'd want to talk to them." He hiccupped and reached toward Ginny. "Sober me up. I have to go with him."

"You're not coming," Harry said firmly.

"Bugger off, Mate! I need to go talk some sense into her." Ron stood and nearly toppled over.

Harry shook his head in annoyance and gave Ginny a pointed look. "Go on and give him some potion."

"Oh... yes." She flicked her wand to Summon a bottle from the shelf behind Harry. "Are you sure about this Ron?"

He snatched the potion from her, tossed back his head, and poured down a large gulp. As soon as he handed it back to her, his eyes narrowed. "Oi, what the bloody hell did you...?"

Harry caught him before he hit the floor. "Thanks for that."

"Sleeping Potion, always good to have on hand," Ginny said with a sigh. "He'll be right mad when he comes round."

"Keep him here. He'll only make things worse. I'll contact you when I find out something."

"I hope you find her before it's too late."

"Ginny, what if it's not such a bad thing?" Harry asked as he laid Ron the couch. He nodded to his friend. "He didn't make things better, demanding this and that. Hermione's always been about books, righting laws to make things equal for all. She's never once sat round talking about the big family she wanted to raise after Hogwarts. He shouldn't have thought he could force that on her."

"He wasn't trying to force her! He was just..."

Harry's voice rose slightly. "Bollocks, and you know it! He broke it off, started seeing someone else. When does he realize what he's losing? Now that he's found out she's only doing the same thing that he did!"

Ginny bit her lip. "I know he did a lot that was wrong, but she did as well. I just wish they could work things out. In my mind, it's always been you with me and Hermione with Ron. And to think of her with Snape, of all people, I just hate it."

"Snape helped us beat Voldemort."

"YOU beat Voldemort!"

"Yeah? Only because he helped and looked out for me all my life!" This was always a sore subject for them. He was glad she thought so highly of him, but he disliked the way she never wanted to give Snape credit for anything.

"I hope you find her," Ginny said, her tone effectively ending their conversation.

Harry gave her an unreturned hug and Disapparated.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The building was small and quite aged. The grounds looked unkempt. Harry noticed most Muggles passing by without really taking note of the place. As he began to cross the pavement, he saw two familiar faces.

"Hello there, er, Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins," Harry said, turning towards them fully.

"Grangers... Wilkins no more," John corrected as he extended his hand in welcome.

Harry shook it and smiled at them. "Glad to hear it."

"It's been a long time coming," Jane said, pulling Harry into an embrace.

Things had definitely changed. "I'm right glad that Hermione was able to... Er, that is to say, I'm glad that things are back on track."

"Well, after her visit the other night, we realized how much we were missing out on by remaining angry. We understand now, completely, why she did what she did," Hermione's dad said.

"Oh, we'd planned on going back to England, but..." Her mother shrugged. "Anyway, our little girl's getting married." She nodded to the building. "Shall we?"

"Never noticed this building before. Strange, that," John said, stuffing the parchment with the address in his pocket.

Harry grinned. "I was hoping I wasn't late. She has no idea that I'm here in Australia. I just left the local Ministry. Had a contact find out where they were."

"She'll be pleased then," Jane replied and started forward. "She may be doubly surprised. I don't think she thought we'd attend."

Surprised wasn't a word Harry would use to describe Hermione's reaction. Her face had gone from shocked to happy to suspicious when she saw him with her parents to angry. He'd say she was quite emotional.

"Hermione," he held up his hand, "brides are known for their wedding jitters, but come on... really."

"How could you?" she whispered angrily at her parents, causing Harry's eyebrows to arch in confusion.

"Oh, no..." he began as he realized what she thought. "I only just saw them outside."

"Do you want us to leave, Hermione?" her father asked. "What's all this?"

Harry interjected again. "They didn't contact me, Hermione."

"Wouldn't have bloody known how in the first place," her mother said.

Never again would Harry wonder where Hermione's expressions had come from. Mrs. Granger had the same set jaw and squinted eyes that spelled out indignation. "Hermione," Harry said again, this time trying to pull her aside.

"Unhand her, Potter," came a quiet voice from his right.

He blinked and stepped back to get a better look at the man before him. There was no animosity, no loathing, rising up within. All of what he used to feel towards Snape had died that night at Hogwarts. "Professor," he said, holding out his hand.

Snape only crossed his arms over his chest. "What are you doing here?"

"He's come round to stop the wedding!" Hermione said, voice rising. "I thought maybe they'd asked him, but..."

"I came on my own," Harry said firmly, pointing to her parents, "and they had nothing to do with it. Just saw them outside a moment ago for the first time since... you know, that day."

"Why would we call on him to stop it? We're here because we approve," John said in confusion.

"Approve? But..." Hermione also seemed confused.

"Yes," Jane said. "Why would you think otherwise?"

"I..." Hermione looked at Harry and then at her intended.

"A word?" Harry asked.

"Absolutely not," Snape replied for her. "She's made her decision."

"If I want to speak to him..." Hermione began softly.

"I didn't mean to say you couldn't."

"But that is what you said," Harry interjected.

"Enough, Harry," Hermione said, stepping between them in hopes of stopping any altercation. "I've made up my mind. You can go back and tell Ron it's done. We all just need to move on. This is my decision."

"Ron did want to find you. So did Ginny. But I came because I wanted to make sure you were certain..."

"I am," Hermione said as Snape also replied with "She is."

"And when I found that you were, I intended to stand in for you as a witness, give you support." Harry suddenly felt protective. "And she can answer for herself, thanks." This last was directed at Snape. The man looked as though he was ready to snatch Hermione and run off at any sign of trouble. Why? What was going on? Was Snape that desperate for a wife? And why did the Grangers seem confused about Hermione's reaction to their arrival?

"Harry... you're here for me?" Hermione asked, her voice suddenly soft and small. He thought she might cry. There were tears in her eyes. Her mum must have sensed it as well because she stepped forward and pulled Hermione into her arms.

"Brides shouldn't cry on their wedding day," the older woman said soothingly. "Their artfully made up eyes will leak and ruin everything!"

"John Granger," said Hermione's father as he stepped forward and extended a hand to Snape.

Snape briefly paused before doing the same. "Severus Snape."

"I'm Jane Granger. Sorry to meet you like this. She should have brought you round first." The lady was smiling and had offered her hand to Snape even though she was holding a now loudly crying Hermione. "Why so sad, love?" Jane asked as Snape lightly shook her hand.

"Y-you both sa-said Granger."

And then Harry understood. It symbolized everything Hermione had wanted so badly...her parents to try to be again what they once were. Their approval and love meant everything to her. He decided to give them a moment to speak privately and moved to the other side of the room. Snape followed.

"I still think you are up to something, Potter," the man said.

Harry glared at him defiantly. Why should he have to explain himself again? Hasn't he been one of Snape's strongest supporters all this time? Why couldn't the man just be friendly for once? "I'm here because I love Hermione. Yes, I wanted her to be with Ron, but if this is her choice, then she needs to know she's not alone, yeah?"

"So you aren't here to spirit her back to England and talk sense into her?"

"When can anyone ever change her mind once she's set on something?" Harry asked with a shrug. "And she's one of my best mates. That's something you're going to have to get used to." Inwardly, Harry hoped Snape would get used to it. He wanted to know the man, know more about his parents.

"She and I have discussed this already."

"Yeah?"

Snape's eyes narrowed. "I'll not have another Potter cocking things up for me. If you care about her, as you claim, you will keep your word about supporting her decision." Snape looked over his shoulder at the huddled Grangers; then his eyes darted toward the door. "I nearly expect Weasley to come bursting through the door, wand out, bungled spells falling from his lips."

"He's not coming. Ginny's keeping him back at home."

"How did you find us?" Snape asked suspiciously.

"I'm an Auror, and believe it or not, I can make deductions."

"Why would you support our marriage, Potter? What's in it for you?"

Harry noticed how Snape's fingers had travelled to slip into his pocket, likely where his wand lay hidden. "Going to hex me, are you? I'm sure that will go over well with your bride." Harry smirked. "Want to know what's in it for me? For one, I get to keep Hermione in my life and make sure she's happy. I plan to pop round often for visits, see? For another, I want to talk to you about..."

"Not that again, boy. I've told you..."

"Told me what? How you've met the Grangers before today? It's a bit odd they don't seem to remember that, though, eh?"

"Explain yourself!" Snape hissed.

"Perhaps you should explain yourself!" Harry said; his wand was suddenly in his hand instinctively the instant Snape's demeanor had changed.

"Explain what?" Hermione asked. "Harry, what are you doing?"

"Old habits?" he offered, pushing his wand the pocket of his robes.

She dabbed at her eyes. "I can't tell you how much it means to me that you came here. You have no idea how alone I've been feeling. Mum and Dad, they weren't pleased. I had no one."

Harry allowed her to hug him as his eyes met Snape's. "Glad to see they changed their thinking then."

"Yes," she said happily, "they're tired of being here and are coming home sooner than they'd planned. They want to start the dentistry again and everything. I can't believe it!" She released Harry and reached over to take Snape's hand in one of hers. "It seems unfair that I have a friend here, but you do not. I'm sorry."

To his credit, Snape only appeared startled at her act of kindness for a moment. "It is nothing. This trip was to sort out your parents. You know that."

"Thanks," Hermione said, beaming brightly. "Shall we?"

Snape nodded. "Indeed." His eyes briefly met Harry's before he strode forward with Hermione on his arm.

Harry followed.

SW's Notes: I can only apologize for my delay. Things came up, and I was unable to send this off to my beta and have it posted right away. Peace.

Additional Note: My beta is busy getting ready for an awesome recital, so this is the unbeta'd version. I shall replace it with the better version as soon as she has time to look at it.