cleverness | and to this day, when everything breaks, you are the anchor that holds me

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and to this day, when everything breaks, you are the anchor that holds me

As the sun began to deep from its early afternoon high, birds chirped as they flew through the woods, lingering around the Nook and watching curiously as people gathered from around the city. Flowers bloomed from the branches, uncharacteristically bright and large for the season, aided by a touch of magic. Not far from the house, a small babbling brook snaked through the fields, giving pets and wildlife alike the chance to run around and splash in a bit of water. The wedding decor had been designed to blend into the countryside, tables held up by tree trunks, and shade overhead provided by the stretch of vines and blossoms. The scent in the air was subtle and sweet, light floral mingling with the smell of baked goods wafting from the buffet table. At the end of the table stood a large cake, with white frosting and decorated with orange blossoms and clementines. If one looked closely enough, they would notice that one of the fruits was different than the rest, painted a subtle gold, and occasionally flying around the cake with a rapid beating of delicate wings.

The wedding was a small and intimate affair, meant to be more of a celebration than a formal occasion, and guests mingled with wine and cheer before the time came for the ceremony to begin.

Ron had felt as if he was going to lose his breakfast for most of the day. The truth was, he'd barely eaten at all that morning, anxious about the late afternoon ceremony. In some ways, it reminded him of ages ago, of his first Quidditch match as Keeper back at Hogwarts, his stomach was in knots, he felt peaky, and without realizing it that morning, he'd been so distracted by his own thoughts that he'd idly managed to cast a spell that left a small raincloud lingering over his head for nearly an hour before he managed to rid himself of it.

He knew that he was mental for it, for being worried about any of this. He and Hermione had been together ages now. They loved each other, and this was the next thing. There was no doubt in his mind that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with that bloody amazing woman, but there was still the slightest bit of worry that she'd think better of it— of him— and tell him to sod off. He hadn't had thoughts like that, when it came to Hermione, in ages, but somehow it'd all come flooding back in the hours before the wedding.

Even standing there, waiting for her to walk down the aisle, he tried to push those thoughts away, tried not to look too nervous, like his stomach didn't feel like a crumpled bit of parchment. At least, if it all went sour, he only really knew a handful of people who'd turned up today. And Charlie wasn't George or Ginny, so he wouldn't give him too hard a time about it.

But the thing Ron didn't expect, standing there feeling like he might pass out, what he hadn't prepared himself for, was how she looked when he finally saw her. Because once he finally saw Hermione in her dress, walking toward him, this bloody amazing woman who'd chosen him when she could have had anyone, all the worry melted away. The parchment uncrumpled itself, and he was left grinning so hard he couldn't imagine ever being this happy again in his life.

All throughout the morning, Hermione's heart fluttered in her chest. Even as she listened to the guests mingling in the distance, there was something about the day that didn't feel quite real, even as she worked on zipping her dress and arranging her hair just so. While she had asked a guest or two for help on occasion, Hermione spent most of the morning preparing on her own, letting the enormity of everything that had led her and Ron to this point sink in. She had known, practically since their first year at Hogwarts, that Ron was a person whom Hermione would spend the rest of her years standing alongside. But the depth of what they felt for one another, the deepening of those emotions as they bloomed into something deeper and intangible, was something she never could have anticipated all of those years ago.

Now, she couldn't imagine wanting a single day away from him. As Hermione gazed in the mirror, she noticed how it softened her appearance. Her cheeks, dusted pink even without the help of blush. Quietly, she stole a moment to peek through the window, where Ron and Charlie were speaking in the distance. Everything about the day felt right. Everything was coming together, the final missing pieces of the puzzle.

By the time she made her way to the aisle, Hermione was already beaming, fingers trembling as they held onto her bouquet. Petals of light pink and orange lined the path she took, guests turned their heads to rest upon the bride, and sweet woodwind music played in the distance — but in the moment, Hermione only had eyes for Ron. As she came to a stop across from him, she reached a hand out to lace with his own, and silently murmured, I love you.

Ron had spent hours the day before trying to put the right words together, even though he knew that he was rubbish at that sort of thing. Reports, papers… mostly he just tried to get out of doing them, but this wasn't something Ron wanted to skive off. It was more important than almost anything.

In the end, he'd come up with something, and he'd written it out on a bit of parchment that he'd folded up and put in the pocket of his jacket, but he'd begun to think he wouldn't need it after all.

"Hermione, you've been my best friend, my teacher, my soul mate. You've managed to put up with me for over a decade now, and if you were going to think better of it, I s'pose you would've done it by now. Sometimes— right now, especially— I can't believe I've gotten this lucky. I love you, Hermione. You've been making me a better person since we first met, all those years ago as kids. And I promise that— that I'll keep working at it for as long as we're together, which is the rest of our lives, I hope. I promise we'll keep learning from each other, and that I'll always be there.

"A long time ago, I got lost, and it took a little ball of light to bring me back to you, to bring me home again. But I promise to never leave again. You're my home now, and you always will be."

As Hermione listened to Ron speak, she felt her chest grow tight and her eyes mist over, but she did her best to take the whole moment in, committing every detail to memory. The bright blue of Ron's eyes, as clear as the sky above. The way his hair caught the sunlight. The gentle brush of the wind as he spoke, grass waving merrily in the distance. She ducked her head for only a moment, smiling to herself, knowing that she could never forget the way that her heart felt right then, full to burst.

"As a child, I had always been somewhat of a precocious little thing. I knew how to consume books as though I was breathing air, and I kept my nose buried in them, day after day, like they were my entire world. But from the moment that you entered my life, Ron, you showed me that there was so much more to the world than what I could learn in the shelves of a library. You taught me the value of friendship, you showed me what true bravery meant. And what you taught me, above all else, is about love. What it's like to grow together, and what it's like to feel as though there's another person in the world who completes you. Who makes your world whole. Who shows you, every day, how life can be lived to its fullest.

"You say that you feel like you're lucky, but I feel like I've been the fortunate one to have found my soulmate so early in life. And I can't wait to spend the rest of that life with you."

Trembling hands relaxed as Hermione watched Ron slide the ring onto her finger, and she glanced up with a soft laugh. His warm arms wrapped around her, and Hermione pushed herself onto her toes, hand curling against his chest as she pressed her lips to his.

[ gathering for ronmione wedding! let us know if you're requesting ron, hermione, or both! tag in and be merry. ♥ ]

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"Criticized for not believing there's some all-seeing, all-knowing dude up in the sky who basically thinks we're all dirt unless we spend our lives being boring? People need to mind their own business," Kate says and then she grins a second later and shrugs. It's possible she has strong opinions on the subject, but she knows her mom's illness would have once been called a possession, that Buck and T and Alice would have been demons, and the whole thing leaves her feeling pretty gross.

"No, this was so nice," she says, looking around again. "The ceremony was seriously gorgeous and your vows were beautiful. I think that's the part that matters most anyway."

"Photographer and food are like, my top two priorities," she says with a grin. She wants to remember the day, but she also wants to eat some really delicious food and drink some really delicious cocktails. "Thank god Newt's a genius scientist, because apparently they pay those folks pretty well. If I tried to pull off a wedding on the Dressing Room salary, we'd all have to sit on the ground and eat peanut butter sandwiches."

Steph raises her eyebrows at him as she bops to the music. He looks so uncomfortable you'd think he's being told to dance at gunpoint. "We don't have to dance," she points out to him and doesn't tease him for his stiffness the way she would Tim. "Not if you don't want to. Don't worry, it's not mandatory."

"I don't think I can put everyone to shame, considering how gorgeous everyone I've invited apparently is," Hermione says with a laugh. While physical appearance is far from what matters most, even a quick glance around the reception shows that the people who have been invited are beautiful, and Hermione finds her cheeks flushing slightly at the thought. "But, oh, gosh. I can't even tell you how surprised I was by Ron's vows, I really — not that I ever doubted him, but sometimes it feels like you grow into the habit of having the person you love by your side, and don't always stop to think about how they see the world. And how they see you. I feel like my heart's about to burst."

The first thing Ron thought of was to protest. He hadn't lived with his mum in ages, and he couldn't think of much he wanted less, as a married man, than to live with his mum again. But knowing that his dad wasn't in Darrow as well, the idea of her living on her own in one of those flats in the city was a bloody awful one. There was no way he was going to leave her to that.

"It's brilliant," Ron said, and leaned over to press a kiss to Hermione's cheek. In less than a year in Darrow, the Nook had become almost as much like home as the Burrow had been, and much of that was because of the thought Hermione had put into it.

"And she's right. We've got loads of room. No reason you should stay in some weird flat just because they've said you're supposed to."

Molly hadn't thought about needing a place to stay until Hermione brought it up. But from what she'd been told it wasn't as though she could simply Apparate back to the Burrow, as strange as that seemed now she did think about it.

"But it's your wedding night," she told them, not wanting to impose too much even though the thought of separating from them seemed worse than whatever weird flat Ron was thinking of. "I'm sure I could get something sorted out, if you'd rather be alone. There's Charlie, after all. Or a flat, you say? Is that something that happens?"

"I won't pressure you into buying anything, and my shop isn't only meant to be a safe haven for customers," Hermione reassures with an easy smile and nod. "You're even welcome to stop by here at my house, should you ever like. Sometimes, I find it's nice to get away from the chaos of the city proper. Out here, there's more space to think... and fewer distractions."

She laughs, shrugging a shoulder. "And I can also offer a home-cooked meal, though in my case... I'm not sure there's much about it to boast about. I'm still learning to make my way around the kitchen."

While Hermione's always loved her parents, she knows well the feeling of one's family expanding to include those who work their way into one's life, by chance or otherwise. If Neville's toad hadn't gone missing on the train to Hogwarts, if she hadn't happened to overhear the boys talking about her after class, if Quirrell hadn't released the troll into that specific bathroom — nothing would be the way that it is now.

And Hermione knows better than to take those blessings for granted.

"It's wonderful, isn't it? There never needs to be a limit on who becomes family. It's one of the things that I like best about this place, how easy it's been to build such warm relationships. Why, before long, I'm sure my husband will be trying to think of ways to divide everyone into teams for a game of Quidditch. That's the popular wizarding sport, where I'm from."

"Criticized for being closed-minded about faith," Hermione laughs. She knows that there was a time when she would have been just as emphatic as Kate is on the matter. At the same time, she's never quite gotten over the criticism that Professor Trelawney made of her, so early in to the year. There are still undoubtedly forces in the world beyond her understanding, abilities that no one can quite explain.

Prophecy exists, even though sometimes, Hermione would rather it didn't.

"But I agree. As long as people aren't imposing their beliefs on others, there's little reason not to let people believe whatever they would believe. Anyway, let's speak of happier things. Ron's vows... he was so worried about them, but they were more beautiful than anything I could have imagined."

"Oh, my God, I completely forgot about that," Eduardo says, stifling a laugh at the thought. At the time, it hadn't seemed funny at all, commonplace as people looking like each other might have been on the island, just as it is here. Now, though, maybe it's the way she's brought it up, or the fact that it slipped his mind completely until she mentioned it, he can't help if he's just a little amused. It's a good thing they don't seem to be in any danger of that happening here, no one else he's glimpsed at the reception looking like Olive. He might be used to it, but he doesn't have to like it, and that would just be too bizarre at an occasion like this. Sipping his drink, he says, "I don't know, I don't think it's weird. Not unless it's weird to one of them, and they don't seem to think so."

Hermione and Ron, from what he's seen of them, just look happy. Even if it were weird, he suspects that might supersede everything else, and he can't say he'd blame them. If it were him — and that's probably not a thought he should be having, though it's not one he can stop, either — he'd be in the same boat.

"It's a perfect one," Eduardo agrees. The weather is a big reason why many couples choose to get married around this time of year, he knows, but still, things can always go wrong. They got lucky, having everything come together this well. Hell, as far as he can see, they got lucky with each other, too, and not just when it comes to both of their having shown up in Darrow. It's a big deal, finding the person to spend the rest of your life with. Not everyone even gets that. But something goes tight in his chest when he thinks of the way they look at each other and the familiarity in it, and being pretty sure he knows the feeling makes him that much happier for them. "And the two of you deserve it. Hopefully now you can have more of a chance to relax, too."

"Oh, not at all," Emmett says with a shake of his head. No matter how wrapped up in his work he might get, an occasion like this is something he's more than glad to take a break for, even if he doesn't know Hermione well yet. Elle wouldn't have had it any other way, anyway; he's pretty sure that even if the wedding hadn't been today, she would have managed to tear him away for a little while. It's something he's gradually getting better at, even if he has just about as much to prove here as he did back at school, if not more so. "It would be worth it, anyway. But I can definitely see how it would be unbelievable."

"Yeah, I do," Emmett says, smiling as he nods in turn. He might not know Hermione very well, but he'd liked her instinctively when they first met, even with the confusion over his resemblance to Stiles. He's getting used to that, and he'd certainly never hold that against anyone when he's seen for himself how striking the resemblance is. When it comes to today, it doesn't take a genius or an expert on the books to see how crazy she and Ron are about each other. There's no way not to be happy for them. "And it really is gorgeous. It came together so well."

Again, Aggie thinks of Yuuko and her ideas about fate, how it's closer to an inevitability of the universe. It's not frightening to her, not when it creates moments like this. If what Yuuko said is true, then it was fated for Aggie to find these people she loves.

"Exactly. It's not at all like where I was from..." Her bitterness doesn't have time to surface when Hermione mentions Quidditch. "How does it work?"

"You guys wrote your own, huh?" Kate asks. They had definitely been beautiful, but it's the one thing she's actually nervous about. No matter what else happens, the vows are the things she knows she and Newt will remember the most and if they write their own, everyone else is going to hear the sorts of things Kate doesn't let anyone hear. She's always been an emotional person, but she's also spent a lot of her life hiding her real emotions. That's definitely not possible when it comes to writing vows because she wants to say the right things. She wants Newt to know how much she loves him.

But the idea of saying those sorts of things in front of all their friends makes her feel kind of ill with nerves. "How long did it take you to write them?" she asks. "I've just... I've sort of been thinking about mine already."

Oh, crap. Boys. Have we had that conversation? I probably need to have that conversation. Oh, God, how do I have that conversation?

Breathe, Gordon. You don't need to do it now.

"I think maybe that would depend on me knowing Henry a bit first. And talking to his guardian, of course."

"We go to school together. Maybe he can come over some time." She leans a little on Barbara, half hugging from her seat.

"He's a friend."

"Well I'm glad you have a friend. I wish I'd had more friends at your age." Not that I was anti-social or anything, but I was more interested in books than friends and let's face it, no one wants to have sleepovers at the cop's house.

Not that I'm wanting her to have a sleepover with a boy. Cripes. Dad, how did you deal with me? Honestly, I'd like to know.

"You can have him over for dinner any time. Just give me some notice if you can, okay?"

"I'll give you exactly a ten-minute head start," Aggie promises. "That's enough time, right?"

"Right." I give Aggie a light punch on the shoulder, knowing full well that she's way too responsible to give me only ten minutes unless there's an emergency or no other option. She's like me in that. Likes to have a plan, but is happy to improvise if need be.

"Ten minutes to raid the fridge and pull together an awesome dinner. Can-do, kiddo."

Hermione's cheeks flushed slightly upon Molly's direct mention of their wedding night, and was glad that Ron's kiss could obscure her briefly from view. It wasn't that Molly was wrong in any way. While Hermione hadn't gone all out to plan what would happen in the privacy of their home, she knew that the excitement over the day hadn't abated in the slightest, and there was nothing she looked forward to more than an intimate evening with her new husband. That didn't make it any easier to keep a straight face about it in front of his mother, though.

She bit down on her lower lip briefly, seeking out Ron's hand and giving it a light squeeze.

"True, I imagine Charlie has space in his flat as well. But, at least spend some of the night with us. You can Apparate within the city, after all — or you should be able to, though Charlie's had some trouble with it. The city arranges to have flats prepared for everyone who enters Darrow from outside, but they're... rather stark and impersonal," Hermione says hesitantly. "I'd been meaning to ask Charlie if he was interested in building a place out here, but we've all been so busy that we haven't gotten around to it. Though now, there's all the more reason to."

"No, no, it's fine," Billy assured her. It wasn't really fine though, because he felt like he was doing everything that other people were doing but only he still didn't look like they did. It was like knowing exactly what something looked like but being unable to draw it. He tried to think of it like his training with Korra though. It was just moving his body, kind of like through a kata that he didn't know. Taking a few deep breaths he forced himself to relax and just sort of do smaller motions. The important thing was to have fun, right? Have fun and not to look like a complete loser to Steph.

"I just need to get warmed up."

"Iiiiii am not going to just stop by your house," Billy said. "That would just be weird."

Because not only was she just married but that was not a thing that Billy did. He didn't just stop at someone's house to hang out. If he was invited to come at a specific time that was something different but he couldn't ever remember a time in his life when he just... showed up.

"But if you just happen to bring leftovers to the shop and I just happen to be there, I wouldn't refuse them," he added. He had lived on the street enough that he never turned down free food.

"Relax? Never," Hermione says, chuckling. More than most of her friends, Eduardo knows the extent of Hermione's ambition in the city. Given that he's had entrepreneurial experience of his own, it's easier for Hermione to share her ideas with him about founding a school for subjects that fall outside of the purview of public education. "I guess we have a couple days to relax — I don't think either Ron or myself is eager to get back into work on Monday. But without there being much of anywhere for us to go on a destination honeymoon, I think the both of us will dive back into our jobs before too long. I've actually been thinking about starting the paranormal school in earnest. Most people in school are starting classes now, but it won't be long before they've adjusted to class and might think about filling the spare time they have. It makes for an ideal time to offer courses. Ron's brother Charlie recently arrived to help out at the shop, too, so I have some extra time to think about location, staffing..."

Hermione wrinkles her nose sheepishly. "Even on my wedding day, I can't stop thinking about work, it seems. But I love it."

Hermione's smile softens. If Emmett is anything like herself, then he probably is feeling the pull of his desk even during a celebration like this, but Hermione knows as well as anyone how important it can be to pull oneself away and clear their head now and again. Besides, the whole day has been full of happiness, filling Hermione's heart to the point of spilling over. That's not something she'll ever regret sharing with others.

"It's just a few words and a pair of rings, but... it changes everything," Hermione admits, cheeks flushing over anew. "Your girlfriend actually helped me to pick out the dress, so I really have her to thank for helping to make this day so wonderful. Have the two of you been together for long?"

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and to this day, when everything breaks, you are the anchor that holds me

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