29: Wedding Day Disaster

Chapter 29: Wedding Day Disaster

After lunch, the trio went to the Burrow to help with last-minute preparations for the wedding, which would take place the following day. Hermione was helping to whip together food for the event, and Fleur had the boys hauling items around the yard, clipping the grass, fixing everything just so for the outdoor ceremony.

It was a horrendously exhausting afternoon and evening, which ended with a quick planning session for Harry's birthday...which was less than a week away. Though they had been invited to stay at the Burrow when they left the Dursley home, the three of them had decided to go to Headquarters instead for several reasons. One was the fact that they would have more autonomy at Headquarters without Molly coddling them every minute of the day. But the most important reason was Harry's fear that anywhere else he may stay could be the focus of attacks. Headquarters was simply safer for everyone.

Harry planned to take his Apparition test on his birthday, which would be followed immediately by a surprise party in his honor. Of course, she and Ginny had been whispering over it at dinner time at the Burrow. The Dursleys were happy to have him gone as much as possible and happy he spent most of his days in the tent in the back yard or away from the house.

Hermione worried that Ron may be a little jealous at the attention Harry would get, but the two of them seemed to be mostly over the jealousy hurdle since Ron became Prefect two years earlier. When she left the Burrow, she was feeling relaxed and loose, exhausted from her previous night of little sleep, and anxious to pull her diary from the pocket and write to Severus.

*****

The morning of the wedding dawned beautiful and bright. Hermione arrived early to help with last-minute preparations. It was a lovely Saturday and she just knew the binding would be perfect. Seeing everyone arrive to share the couple's joy, Hermione felt a bit wistful, wishing she had been able to invite others to her own wedding. Wishing that if she had invited others, they could have felt joy at her union. Even with Albus Dumbledore's death aside, Hermione knew joy was the last thing Harry or Ron would have wished her and Severus. She wondered if the other Order members would have been much better.

When Fleur's grandparents arrived, Hermione ran her thumb over her ring, a gesture that was beginning to become habit. The ring was the silent reminder of her own marriage, the constant support that she wasn't alone and that everything that had happened between herself and Severus wasn't a dream. Not being able to acknowledge her marriage to anyone, and barely mentioning her relationship at all, had proven difficult.

Remus and Tonks arrived, Kingsley Shacklebolt brought his wife, and dozens of others Hermione recognized from the Order showed up as well. Hermione was exchanging pleasantries with Tonks and Remus while waiting for the bride to show, when she felt a twinge of warning in her chest. The same twinge Severus had set off a couple nights before when he had breached the Grangers' wards.

She grasped Tonks' hand. "My parents' house. Someone's trying to get in right now. Three people have crossed the boundaries into the house...no wait, make that five." Since the wards only responded to magical signatures, there was no question that it might simply be a few friends over for a Saturday afternoon barbeque. Everyone magical she knew and trusted was at the wedding.

Tonks whistled and Kingsley and two others hurried over.

Hermione gave the three of them the directions, and all four of them hurried to the Burrow's Apparition boundaries. "You can't come, Hermione," Tonks said when she realized the teen was right behind her. "It's too dangerous."

"I'm coming; they're my parents." Hermione reached the boundaries only a moment after Tonks, but before she could begin the Apparition, she found herself frozen and lying on the grass under a sycamore tree.

Groaning with frustration and tears pouring down her face, Hermione lay locked in place like a stone. Several minutes passed before Ginny reached her and lifted the jinx.

"What's going on? Why did Tonks hex you?"

"There's no time to explain. I have to get home." The words were barely intelligible, Hermione was sobbing so hard.

"Wait. Hermione, wait! What's going on?"

Hermione whirled on her and answered fiercely, "Death Eaters are attacking my parents." Then she focused her mind and Disapparated.

Ministry employees streamed around the house in tandem with Muggle policemen, though it seemed that the Muggles rarely saw the wizards. If they did, none remarked on their funny clothes or their presence at an official police investigation. While the Aurors ignored and waved away a couple of wizarding reporters, Hermione turned away, not wanting to get within fifty feet of them. No one seemed to notice her arrival, and Hermione hugged herself around the chest, afraid to ask someone what happened. Still, she made a beeline for the house, desperate to find her parents.

Tonks stopped Hermione when she arrived, coming around the house as Hermione charged for the back door, intent on protecting her parents if it wasn't already too late.

Tonks grabbed her by the arm and pulled her in, held her close. "They're safe, we got here in time. It's OK."

Hermione crumpled in relief, then looked up at Tonks. "Where are they? Were they hurt? I need to see them."

"There were minor injuries, nothing St. Mungo's can't fix in a trice. They're already there, and we caught most of the men who were here. There's some damage inside the house, but it's all just stuff, Hermione."

"Why my parents? They're just defenseless Muggles. It isn't like they're a threat." Tears of pain and relief, worry and fear, poured down Hermione's cheeks. She was grateful she thought to put those specific wards on her home, and that the Aurors had been so close to her when she realized something was amiss.

She covered her face with her hands when she realized she had caused quite a scene at Bill's and Fleur's wedding. After only a few seconds, she brushed the slight embarrassment away, her parents were hurt, but should be OK, and the wedding hadn't been underway, so at least she didn't interrupt the ceremony. She hoped Tonks was right about her parents' injuries.

Tonks reached out and feathered Hermione's hair back from her forehead, patted the sides. "You should go see your parents, the rest of us will get things cleaned up here. Hopefully I'll have answers for you tonight. You'll feel better once you've seen your mum and dad."

"Yeah, I will. Thanks, Tonks." Hermione wiped the tears from her face, took in a deep breath to calm herself, then Apparated to St. Mungo's.

Compared to the previous time she had been there, the hospital was fairly quiet. Of course her only other trip there had been to visit Mr. Weasley after Nagini attacked him. Then the halls had been littered with victims of family holiday fights and visitors checking in on loved ones for Christmas.

It was late morning, and Hermione imagined most people would be by to visit their family later in the day. She went to the front desk and waited behind a rotund man who was making a ruckus about some hex his three-year-old had cast on an older sister. The woman at the front counter was calm and soothing, sending the man in the right direction in no time.

When Hermione reached the front counter, she was anxious to see her parents, but had allowed Tonks' words to reassure her somewhat. "My name is Hermione Granger. My parents are the Muggles brought in here after the Death Eater attack on their home."

"Yes, of course." The woman checked a paper in front of her and smiled, then met Hermione's eye. "They should be released in a few hours. All minor injuries, easily healed. They are on the fourth floor, Spell Damage, room 416."

Hermione thanked the woman and headed toward the elevators. A moment later, she stepped out on the main floor and was making her way to her parents' room. Thankfully, the Healers had seen fit to place them in the same room. She hesitated outside her parents' room for only a moment, preparing herself in case they looked injured, not wanting to worry them if they looked worse than she expected.

She opened the door, then smiled when she saw both her parents looked pretty good. Her mother's hair was very short, less than an inch long, and her father had some funny spots on his skin. Both looked a bit wan and worn out, but other than that, everything appeared to be perfectly normal.

"Hermione, you're here!" Her mother's greeting was more than simply warm. "I'm sorry to mess up your day, to make you miss that wedding, dear. I know how you were looking forward to it."

Laughing ironically at her mum's apology when Hermione knew if anyone was to blame, it was herself, she hurried over and hugged her mother tight. "Hey, Mum, I was so worried."

"Come here, Poppet, haven't had a chance to hug you all day," her father said when Hermione pulled from her mother's arms. She switched to him and was grateful when his hug was as tight as ever.

"I was so worried. I mean, Tonks said your injuries were minor."

"Yes, the men in black, Death Eaters, weren't they? They seemed more intent on damaging things in the house and humiliating us than in causing much actual pain." Her father shifted in his bed and flinched, then touched his left side. "Well, not too much. The Healers here said we'll be right as rain and on our way home in a few hours."

"Humiliating?" Hermione looked from one to the other and back, wondering exactly what that meant.

"Well, they hexed your mother's hair off, see," her father began and Hermione nodded, understanding now why her mum's hair was so short. It would take several hours to regrow, even magically. "And they hit me with something that hurt and caused these spots on my face, but they should be back to normal soon."

"They roughed your father up a bit, but the Healers already fixed his broken bones and cleared away the bruises. If regular doctors could have access to some of the potions and things you all use, the real world would be revolutionized."

Hermione smiled softly, though inside she was groaning. The real world. The magical world had never been real to her parents, more like the fantasy realm their daughter played around in most of the time. That was one reason Hermione was reluctant to share her relationship with Severus with them. Not that they would take the age difference issue without a blink, because no matter how great they were, twenty years is still a lot of age difference. Especially when Hermione was only seventeen herself.

The real issue was that the magical aspect of the bond would be so far outside their experiences that she figured they would fight it...even harder than Severus had. Even harder than he still fought it, to be honest. She loved her husband dearly, but he could be so hard-headed sometimes.

"As you saw yourself today though, magic can be wielded for bad purposes too, so it's best we don't share it with those who aren't ready. But I'm glad it was here to help you so this won't be an ongoing problem to deal with." She almost added 'physically,' knowing the emotional repercussions for both them and herself would continue for quite some time.

She stayed and spoke with them for over an hour, until one of the Healers ushered her out of the room, insisting her parents needed a nap before they were released into the Muggle world again.

"Don't go home, Mum, Dad. Go see Aunt Edna for the weekend. Let yourselves heal completely and let me see about some more protective measures before you return."

"The longer we wait, the harder it will be to go back there," her father said.

"Yes, but I'm not asking you to wait weeks, just one night. The men who did this won't be able to do it again." The reporter will jump on the story though, and I don't want to risk a copy-cat attack. But she didn't dare say those words, they had to be scared enough as it was, regardless of how well they were taking it. "I want to be sure no one else can come after you either."

"We're the parents, we're supposed to protect you." Her father's voice was low, anguished and she saw him look at his wife, the love all but radiated across the space between their beds. They had always loved each other so much. "But I suppose in this case, I'll let you take care of us. I couldn't stand to lose your mother."

"And life without your father would hardly be worth getting up for each day."

As she watched them stare at each other, soft smiles of love for each other on their faces, Hermione couldn't help but smile as well. Maybe they would understand after all.

*****

The ceremony was long past when Hermione returned to the Burrow. Everyone was enjoying the delicious food Mrs. Weasley had prepared over the previous few days. It only took a moment for Harry to spot Hermione. He stood to catch her eye and waved her over to their table under the shade of an old oak tree.

"How are they?" Harry asked when she took her seat next to him.

"They'll be fine, just fine. Minor injuries, and the Healers expect they'll be back as good as new before dinner time. I convinced them to spend the night elsewhere while we secure the home better this time."

"Bill said he'd be happy to swing over when they return from holiday and cast some special wards for you," Ron said around a full mouth.

Hermione didn't bother to ask him to swallow before speaking. If six years of nagging hadn't done any good, one more nag would surely be useless. "I'd appreciate it. I'll have to talk to Tonks when she shows back up and see what other options I have. Though the first set of wards didn't keep everyone out, at least they warned us so help could arrive quickly. The Creeveys didn't have that kind of protection on their house."

After another moment, the subject shifted until soon the conversation had moved in a completely different direction. It was actually a relief in some ways, spending a few minutes where she was not focused on the bad events of the day, even though they lingered in the back of her consciousness.

Fleur and Bill looked as happy as could be, and Hermione made certain to take a few minutes that afternoon to go over and congratulate them. Bill reiterated his willingness to help in any way he could, but their honeymoon Portkey was scheduled to leave that evening, and there wouldn't be time to do anything before that.

Hermione said she understood, and she did, but it didn't make her worry any less serious.

*****

When most of the guests had drifted off and the others were settled around tables enjoying the evening air, Hermione felt the tug inside that indicated her diary had a new entry. She withdrew it from a small pocket in her skirt, returned it to normal size and flipped it open to the last page she had written on.

Hermione, I just returned from the Dark Lord's side. I heard about your parents. Please, write and tell me that they were stopped in time and you are all right. I feel your worry and strain. I have spent the past few hours worrying about you, despite hearing that you were not home. If I know you, you are wondering if it was your fault. Don't do that to yourself. There were five of them, all operating outside the Dark Lord's orders. Tell me when I can see you. When we get together next, I'll tell you everything I've been able to gather. Just come to our cottage as soon as you can get away.

It was more than Hermione could bear. She wondered if Severus was telling the truth. Did he really know nothing of the attack before it was over? Could she have prevented this, or was he trying to make her feel better? Would he have warned her, given the chance? Tears fell again as she remembered the guilty breakfast she had shared with her parents the previous morning.

She had a man spend the night in their house, in her bed, and knew they wouldn't have approved of him or the marriage. She kept the secret to herself. There would be plenty of time to tell her folks about Severus later, she figured. Plenty of time to prepare them for the introduction. She'd had wards up to alert her, but then they hadn't done much good when Severus came to visit either. What if they had died and she had been left with her secret on her conscience?

She did need to be with Severus. Need to feel his arms around her.

She pulled out her pen and wrote a response. Severus, I want to see you. I'll go to our cottage as soon as I can break away here.

Before leaving the Burrow an hour later, she made sure there were no tracking charms on her, no one watching or skulking around her. If nothing else, the attack on her parents had made her cautious. There was no question that the attack had been meant for her. Why else would they hit her home?

The cottage looked as perfectly charming as always. She thought it a pity she rarely got to spend time there during the day. The garden could use some attention, and she imagined it would be lovely to sit in the shade with a cool drink and a long book and feel the air on her cheeks, smell the roses perfuming the afternoon air. Right now she longed to fly into the tallest tree and listen to the breeze tell stories, as it did to the birds.

But her soul mate was waiting inside, ready to offer her the embrace and support she needed.

And he still claimed he didn't love her. Stupid man.

When the door of the front room closed behind Hermione, Severus gathered her into his arms and held her while she cried. "They'll be fine," she assured him through her tears, "but I know it's my fault. All my fault. They could have been dead."

He moved her over toward the bed where they both lay down, she cried into his chest while he held her tight with one arm, and gently ran a hand over her hair with the other. He didn't offer nonsense words of comfort that wouldn't help. He didn't try to cheer her up, he only loved and accepted her. Somehow he knew what she needed most.

When a great space of time had passed, and her sobbing had melted into nothing more than hiccups, Severus finally spoke, "I was worried about you, wondering how you were, what I could do for you, wishing I could be there, knowing I couldn't."

"Who?"

He didn't need any clarification. "Rookwood, McClaggen, Malfoy Jr., Lestrange, Zabini. I understand the attack was Draco's idea. He saw you with Harry and Ron eating downtown, laughing as though you hadn't a care in the world, and figured you needed some shaking up. He was the only one to return to the Dark Lord. I assume the others were caught?"

"Yes."

"Draco won't be bothering anyone again. His foolishness brought his end." Both sorrow and resignation sounded in his voice.

Surprisingly, a momentary twinge of regret over his death hit Hermione, then faded into the background. "It's my fault then. It really is, not some strange twist of fate. I sometimes thought he hated me more than Harry. I never let it bother me in school." The sobbing didn't return, though guilt did wrench a fresh stream of tears.

"No, it's Draco's fault. It's Zabini's and Rodolphus's and McClaggen's fault. They are the ones who have the problems. You just want to live in peace. You can't be blamed." Severus's voice was fierce, his hold on her tightened, though it still wasn't uncomfortable.

"The boys teased me about you, we laughed at what I did to the twins and teased each other. It was the first time I've seen Harry really laugh since . . . since Dumbledore died." Hermione felt Severus tighten up beneath her, felt his grief. "I wish this could all be over, that we could run and hide. South Africa sounds nice, don't you think? All that hot sun and miles of beaches. We could run off, leave everything behind."

Severus brushed his lips across her forehead and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. "It sounds lovely, my dear. We'll have to do that some day when you are using my name. For now, however, we both have responsibilities. I must spend time with filth like those who have hurt you so much, work to bring them down. And you must help the Boy Wonder do what he must. I think you got the raw end of the deal."

Hermione chuckled slightly at this last comment: it was so typical Severus to think dealing with Death Eaters and the Dark Lord was preferable to helping Harry learn Occlumency and silent spell casting.

"There now, you can laugh."

She felt his cheek rub across her head and lifted her face to press it into his neck. "I just want to forget it all for a little while. Just a while. Please, help me forget."

With a finger at her jaw, he lifted her mouth to his and took her mind away from the pain, if only for the night.

________

AN The first time I wrote this chapter, I killed her parents off. When I was rewriting it to post some time later, I decided not to. This is what we ended up with. Hermione's got enough stress coming up without the loss of her parents on top of it, don't you think? lol

A big thanks to Southern_Witch_69 for correcting my story and validating it, and to countrymouse for betaing it.