Author's Note: Okay. I've been retyping this chapter seven times. I didn't know how to end it, or even begin it. I hate to admit this, but I dove into this chapter having no clue where it was going. But I have a clue now!

Chapter Seven

Two years later…

"What are you doing? Those flowers don't go there! Take these streamers over there, and don't mix them up. I want blue in the back, and white in the front. Stop crowding the tables together! Table Nine cannot be that close to the wall, my uncle Rufus has a very serious problem with small spaces. Be careful with that! I can't afford to buy another life-size sculpture of Aphrodite! And where the heck is my coffee?" Hermione paced back in forth, watching the movers work like ants. Her time was limited, and she couldn't have these slackers wasting it by making stupid mistakes. She tapped her foot slightly. She didn't mean to sound like a drill sergeant, but things had to be done. "What did I just tell you about Table Nine?" She stalked over to a young man in his early twenties who was pushing Table Nine a little closer to the wall. "I don't care about how big the dance floor is, I can't have my uncle having a panic attack in the middle of my wedding!" The man glared at her and pulled the table away from the wall with a jerk. Hermione glared back. "Watch it." She spun around to survey the others. "Where is my coffee!" A tall girl with short red hair came up beside her, holding a stack of menus.

"The chef really needs you to look over these menus, Mione." Hermione snatched a menu from the top and glanced at it.

"I'll do it later. I don't have time right now." The girl slammed the rest down on Table Nine and put her hands on her hips. Hermione raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You're over-working yourself. Look at you, you haven't had a decent night's sleep in a month. If I had known what kind of monster you would become, I would have never let you get married. This is supposed to be your big day, not the death of you. Why don't you have a break? Take a day off?" Hermione briefly glanced around the room before turning her complete attention to the younger girl.

"I can't. This place would fall apart without me. This has to be perfect. Everything needs to be in place, and only I can handle that. Look at these guys, they hardly listen! I need to be here at all times and make sure nothing goes wrong. Time is limited, and I'm trying to make the most of it." The girl snorted and rolled her eyes at Hermione.

"You are doing everything but making the most of it. When is the last time you were at home?"

"I haven't had time to go home."

"Showered?"

"I shower, thank you very much."

"Ate?"

"Well, I'm trying to find that stupid bloke who was supposed to get me coffee…"

"You've been living off of coffee and sleeping pills. Go home, Mione. I can handle this for the rest of today."

"Are you mad? This is MY wedding! I need to be here."

"You need to be alive for your wedding, get out of here."

"You can't kick me out of my own reception hall, Ginny." Ginny grinned, and it sort of scared Hermione. She took a step back and Ginny whistled at the security guard near the double doors.

"Sir? This woman is causing a commotion and needs to be removed. The workers can't do their jobs with her here. Could you escort her off the property?" Hermione gaped.

"WHAT! This is my wedding! You can't kick me out!"

"Ma'am, could you calm down please?" Hermione glared at him as he turned to the guy who was moving tables. "Sir, is this woman distracting you from your work?" Hermione couldn't believe this. They were trying to get rid of her. Her, the bride!

The man glanced at Hermione and then smiled at the guard. "Why yes, she is." Hermione glared at him and then turned to Ginny.

"Joke's over, Ginny. I want my coffee." The guard grabbed Hermione's elbow and tugged her away from Ginny. "Stop! This is my wedding! I need to be here!" Ginny waved goodbye and blew a kiss at her as the doors slammed shut.

"I'm sorry, Miss. There's a coffee shop down the street, you can go there if you like." The guard walked back inside, leaving Hermione very confused and frustrated. She was just kicked out of her own wedding planning. Was that even legal?

Back inside, Ginny began giving orders again. She was quite happy with what she accomplished. She was starting to get worried about Hermione and all the stress the wedding was having on her. Plus, the groom was no help.

"Excuse me? I was supposed to give that woman her coffee… but…"

"Oh, I'll take that." Ginny took a sip of the coffee and grinned. Her duty of Maid of Honor was to make sure the bride didn't ruin everything. And that's exactly what Hermione would end up doing.

((Latte))

Hermione walked down the street in the direction the security guard gave her. She was in desperate need of coffee. No one was cooperating with her anymore. Ginny had her kicked out of her own reception hall, Harry and Ron were off giving her groom 'a good time before his freedom ends', and her other bride's maid, Lana Feathers, was busy trying to hunt down every single one of her family members. Some of these so-called family members were people Hermione had never heard of before, but Lana insisted of her having a huge wedding.

"You only get married once, why not make it big? Well… unless you're American." Hermione could still Lana's voice telling her the urgency of a big wedding. She smiled to herself. Lana and the others were only trying to help her. But she couldn't help but get annoyed with it.

The groom was the last person everyone thought she would marry. Hermione herself wasn't really looking for love when she found him. It was two years ago, and she never felt safer since she was with him. His name was Harrison Fawkes. They met in a coffee shop. Hermione was on another adventure to find the truth in the wizard society when she spotted him. He was sitting in the back of the shop, his hair was messy and his eyes were scanning a book that he held tightly in his grasp. Hermione noticed how similar his shoes were to hers. She thought that was the perfect conversation starter. So, with her caramel latte with extra foam, Hermione found her soul mate. He was perfect in ever way. He was sensible, reliable, and extremely intelligent. He loved history novels with endings you already knew from high school textbooks. He liked to travel to countries with green countrysides and he was madly in love with Hermione Granger.

They dated off and on in the first year. Hermione had a lot of work in Spain and Harrison stayed in London to work at the museum restoring old paintings. Hermione had debated whether to tell Harrison she was a witch, and decided to leave that detail out. He was a muggle, and he was a reality-based man. There was no way he would have believed her without thinking either she was crazy, or he was. And it seemed pointless to end such a wonderful match over magic. At least, that's what Hermione had believed when he proposed.

And that's how she got here today, walking down the street, bags under eyes, and her heart about to burst from the lack of caffeine in her body. She sighed as she spotted the sign to the coffee shop. She really wished Ginny would have just let her stay there another hour. There was so much to do, and the wedding was in a week. Love wasn't worth this kind of devotion unless there was a healthy supply of coffee and Tylenol.

The shop was dimly lit, and there were posters of old famous blues singers in different angles all over the blue walls. The tables and chairs were miss-matched and there were sunflowers in ceramic vases on each one. There weren't very many people there, and Hermione was glad for that. She needed the peace and quiet.

She walked up to the counter and smiled at a young man with black hair and black glasses. A silver ring dangled from his bottom lip as he returned the smile.

"What can I get you, miss?" Hermione glanced at the menu. She already had decided what she wanted an hour ago.

"Caramel latte with extra foam." The kid began to work behind the counter as Hermione got a good look at the people in the shop. She met eyes with a young blonde man who returned the gesture with a wink.

"That's a good choice." Hermione grinned, he seemed pleasant enough. He was wearing brightly colored clothing and a very stylish watch that Hermione herself considered buying once. His shoes were shinny and polished along with everything else on him.

"I can't live without my regular."

"You're a coffee lover like me?"

"You could say that, seeing how it's my life support." He chuckled at her. She smiled as the kid behind the counter passed her her coffee. The Styrofoam cup was warm in her hand and the steam met her face in thick curls.

"Come sit with me. I've been dying for a good conversation all day." Hermione placed herself across the table from him. He leaned over and flashed his pearly whites at her. "The name is Jack. Jack Griffin."

"Hermione Granger-soon-to-be-Fawkes." He squealed, startling Hermione somewhat.

"You're getting married! How exciting! When? Where? Who's the lucky guy?" Hermione grinned. He was acting a lot like Ginny.

"His name is Harrison. We're getting married in a week at the old church on the outside of town. The reception hall is just down the street. My Maid of Honor made me leave; she thinks I'm over-worked. But it's the bride's duty to plan her wedding down to the napkins!"

"I so agree! But darling, you can't take it too seriously. Otherwise you'll have bags under your eyes on your wedding day! How disgusting! Anyways, what's this Harrison like?" He leaned in even closer. Hermione took a sip of the hot liquid.

"He's perfect, honestly. He likes books, just like me. And he likes quiet, just like me. He likes simple things, just like me. He likes opera, like me. And he loves … well… he loves what I love. He was top of his class, just like me. And his family is dentists, just like mine. And he wants a small family, which is just what I want. We match so wonderfully, we're made for each other." Jack gave her a long look, making her feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Does he look like you too?"

"What?"

"He sounds like your clone."

"He is not my clone."

"Well, he likes everything you like. His childhood sounds just like yours, and his family are replicas of yours. Hm… sounds like clone material."

"Harrison is a completely different person then me."

"Oh, really? I'd love to hear how." Hermione bit her lip.

"He… well he hates…. He doesn't like my toothpaste." Jack burst into laughter. Hermione glared at him as he slapped his leg.

"Girl, you're about to marry yourself."

"I am not!"

"His name even starts with an H!"

"What does that have anything to do with it?"

"Listen, Hermione, this marriage is doomed. You can't marry someone who is just like yourself. It leaves no mystery, no passion. It'll be boring and … well… just down right horrible. Why not go for someone who's completely your opposite?" Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I tried that once, it didn't work. I have a safe future with Harrison. He has a five-year plan and a down payment on a beautiful cottage." Jack faked a yawn.

"Boooring. Don't you get tired of looking at your clone everyday?"

"Harrison. Is. Not. My. Clone."

"How about this wedding? What's it going to be like?"

"Well, a friend of mine is rounding up a lot of family members and we're going to have a traditional wedding. The ceremony, like I said, is going to be held at this old fashion church in the country…"

"Boring."

"Excuse me? I happen to like the old fashion church."

"Stir things up a bit, make it worth the two hour 'ceremony' just to watch you and your clone chicken peck."

"He's not my clone. And why not chicken peck?"

"I dare you to make out with him."

"My grandmother would have a heart attack."

"You'll make headlines."

"I'm fine with not making headlines over killing my nanny because I made out with my clone… GROOM! I meant groom."

"Clone."

"And what do you know about this kind of stuff, Jack Griffin? Are you married?"

"Strippers never marry." Hermione was stumped. Jack looked down at his nails before meeting her eyes.

"You're a stripper?" He grinned wide.

"Yes, I am. I have been for a year now. It started out as a way to pay the rent, now I just plain like it." Hermione kept staring. "I don't blame you for being stunned. Male stripping isn't exactly the most heard of profession, but it doesn't matter much to me. I like what I do."

"Taking off your clothes in front of…" Hermione didn't want to finish that sentence.

"Yes, men. I strip for men." Hermione blinked.

"Why do you like that?"

"Simple, it's exciting. It's never the same thing every night. F.Y.I, I'm gay." Hermione grinned.

"Whatever makes you happy. Harrison makes me happy, stripping makes you happy."

"Sweetie, Harrison doesn't make you happy. I can tell. A girl who found her true love would be much more excited about this arrangement of yours than you sound." Hermione sighed.

"He's perfect for me. I know he'll never break my heart."

"Maybe that's what you need, someone who keeps you guessing, someone who makes being in love with him dangerous. I can see right through you Hermione, and that's exactly what you need." Hermione bit her lip and looked out the window. She used to know someone like that.

((D.A.N.G.E.R.O.U.S))

Draco Malfoy was extremely distraught today. He was standing outside his flat, with his cell phone to his ear, trying to wave down a cab while arguing with a fellow teammate of his.

"Drake, you're never going to get a girl if you keep throwing them out the door after one night of passion. You need to grow up and realize there's a morning to look forward to." A cab finally halted to him. He climbed in the back.

"Moon Warehouse." The driver nodded and took off into the afternoon traffic. "Listen, Blaise, you are the last person I will take girl advice from." Draco leaned against the window. Everything in his life seemed needing of some advice.

Draco was alone. He practiced day after day to keep in shape with his Quidditch career, and for the press. He had become quite popular in the last few years. But the fame just made him lonelier. Faceless girls with names he couldn't remember, money he couldn't count, and a reputation he couldn't keep up with. There was hardly any time left for him to breathe.

"Fine, keep living the way you are. You'll just stay as lonely as you always have been. But when you finally wake up one day and realize your bed is empty, don't come crawling to me for help."

"I won't, I don't like men in my bed." Draco clicked his cell phone shut and stared out the window. He hated it when people were honest to him. Why couldn't everyone be as fake as the press? At least they try to make you seem fabulous and happy. Friends suck, Draco thought.

His eyes scanned the crowd of muggles on the sidewalk. He bolted straight up when he saw her. Her hair was as wavy as it had always been, and her stride was just like he remembered from Hogwarts. A girl on a mission. But she wasn't a girl now. No, she was the woman he met two years ago. Hermione.

Author's Note: Cliff! Mwahahahahaha! What will he do? Jump out of the car or let her pass?